Silence is Not an Option

As part of the Alleyn's focus on diversity and inclusion, we were delighted to welcome motivational and public speaker Stuart Lawrence, brother of Stephen Lawrence, to a pastoral event for parents on 'Silence is Not an option'.

In a talk, described by Head, Jane Lunnon, as "one of the most moving pastoral talks I’ve ever heard... Moving, generous, honest and a call to our common humanity", Stuart discussed privilege, unconscious bias, racial inequalities and his messages of hope and tolerance, as well as offering practical advice for the conversations parents can have with their children.

Stuart shared with us the details of his first book Silence Is Not an Option: You Can Impact the World for Change, aimed at readers aged 10+ in which he reflects on Stephen’s life and murder and the tools that have helped him live positively as well as tools to help people find their own voice, stand up for change, and contribute towards creating a more positive society.

Throughout the talk, Stuart encouraged us all to become champions of anti-racism. He said "It's about being able to say to someone that if they've said something wrong, why did you say that? It's not always going to be easy. It might be someone you respect but we must challenge people and not accept it."

He shared his belief that society is changing, and we have made huge measures and marks forward. He recalled a conversation with his Aunt who remembered that the Brixton Riots were made up of 90% black people. Stuart felt that this had reduced to 70% at demonstrations following Stephen’s death in 1993, while more recently, he felt there was a much more balanced split of racial representation at the demonstrations following the death of George Floyd.

But he impressed upon everyone that we can all still do things better and that we need to keep going and continue to learn from the past. Examples he gave included the need to eradicate the ‘N word’ and to celebrate and learn from people’s differences while recognising we all have commonalities as well.

Thank you to Stuart for such an honest and moving talk which provided a welcome opportunity for us to come together with our parent community to discuss these critical issues.