Stephen Lawrence’s shocking murder and his inspiring legacy have had profound effects on British history and society.
Twenty-five years on from Stephen’s tragedy, what we know is that there is still much more to know, and to understand, if we are really to make meaningful changes in attitudes and society.
That will drive the work of The Stephen Lawrence Research Centre, supported by his mother Baroness Lawrence, today our Chancellor.
The centre's two-pronged mission is to produce and support groundbreaking, impact-orientated research which will be innovatively communicated to influence public dialogues, to promote social justice, to foster inclusion, and to engender equity on a local, national and global scale.
It will also develop and facilitate research which is related to the following four target areas, reaching across the DMU community, between universities and public and private stakeholders in the UK, and through collaborative international partnerships and strategic initiatives.
This research will focus on the histories of Black and minority ethnic communities in the UK, the politics and practice of institutional racism, denials of justice and the psychology of racial violence.
The exhibition space at the centre chronicles the 25-year journey towards justice in the aftermath of Stephen Lawrence’s tragic death.
Other materials held in the Stephen Lawrence Archive will be showcased in special collections at the Kimberlin Library.
The centre also houses seminar space and a public research area with computer terminals, space for informal conversation and a mini-library for the public to use.