Doreen Lawrence, Baroness of Clarendon, OBE

Baroness Doreen Lawrence was awarded the OBE for services to community relations in 2003 and since then she has been made a life peer in the House of Lords in 2013. She has won praise for her tireless dedication to community, anti-racism and other causes close to her heart and she was recently named the most powerful woman in the country by the BBC. Her spirit and resilience and demand for a better way have genuinely changed an institution at the core of British life.

Doreen Lawrence continues to advocate and provide a voice for the voiceless with her continued commitment to inequalities in societies globally and supports many good causes and travels  initiatives that provide opportunities to young people that were tragically denied to her son Stephen by his senseless murder in 1993

Her efforts in seeking justice for Stephen’s murder has seen her on-going commitment lead to an investigation into claims of police corruption and, for her, the changes in policing remain ‘only partly done’ in her wish to see Britain become a fairer, just and tolerant society for all.

Following 22 years as the Founding Trustee and President of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, she stepped down to establish the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation where she is continuing to provide ‘a legacy of hope’ for young people, in particular boys of colour and disadvantaged communities with educational opportunities, community cohesion and career advancement.