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VIDEO: Baroness Doreen Lawrence describes what really matters to her

17 April 2014

Children, grandchildren and the preciousness of life are the things that matter most to Doreen Lawrence, as she is interviewed at St Paul's Cathedral.

To begin a new series of interviews with high-profile figures, Baroness Lawrence - mother to Stephen, respected campaigner, Life Peer and founder of The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust - spoke to the Cathedral's Chancellor, Canon Mark Oakley.

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In the interview entitled The Things That Matter, Baroness Lawrence speaks about the huge turn her life took 21 years ago, when her teenage son was stabbed to death on the streets of London, since when she has led the call for police reform and helped bring racist crimes to the nation's consciousness.

In the interview, she talks about her continuing pain, but that the sacrifice of Steven's life has proven to be beneficial for a lot of people and for the country as a whole.

She cites her children and grandchildren as the people that matter deeply to her and says that life is precious and we all need to make more of it.

Rounding off the interview, which also touches on her seat in the House of Lords, humanity and her continued faith, Canon Oakley says to Baroness Lawrence: "The tears of your life and the distillation they have brought have made the woman that we so admire and learn so much from. And we know that admiration is never going to replace Stephen, but we want you to know that it is nationwide and it is very deep."

The Things That Matter

It has been said that there is a ‘wisdom deficit’ in our society and a real search by people to find words that are trustworthy, authentic and energising.

In this series of short interviews, The Reverend Canon Mark Oakley asks respected people what they believe are the things that really matter in this life, the insights they have gained that they want to hand on to others – especially the young.

Canon Oakley says: "The poet TS Eliot famously asked ‘where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge, and where is the knowledge we have lost in information?’ In a culture shaped by adverts, PR-speak and the desire for quick clarity on everything, there is in many of us a real thirst for a deep and authentic wisdom that comes from distilled human experience. ‘Where can we place our trust?’ is an urgent question of our times. I hope this series might offer some insights from respected people and help lead us towards an answer."

The next interview will be available later in the summer.

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