Stephen Lawrence Day 2022 – A Legacy of Change

Today, 22nd April 2022, is the fifth Stephen Lawrence Day, since its introduction following the tireless advocacy of his parents, Neville Lawrence and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

As a young person who was recently introduced to the details of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, it saddens me that when I Google searched his name the first few articles that popped up reduced him to a mere statistic – a black teenager who was murdered in a racist attack. It is obvious that he was so much more than that.

I think a lot of the time when recounting those who lost their lives in terrible circumstances, we tend to gloss over who they were as people and the lives they lived. After a while, we stop seeing those involved as individual innocents and merely another example of the extent of the institutionalised racism in the country. It pains me to see people be reduced to being another case to add to the long list of names of those killed in racial atrocities.  

Stephen Lawrence was an 18-year-old boy who lived in Eltham in South London. He had dreams and aspirations of becoming an architect. These were stopped in their tracks.  This Stephen Lawrence Day, I want to recall who Stephen Lawrence was, as a son, a brother, a cousin, a friend and most importantly a fellow man. I want to think about how, if he was not murdered, he would have achieved his dreams of being an architect.

Let us celebrate the life he did live, and the many accomplishments that his mother, Baroness Lawrence, has completed since that fateful day.  Like how she successfully campaigned for police reform and the elimination of double jeopardy (the principle that stopped suspects from being tried twice for the same crime). After founding the Stephen Lawrence Trust and opening the £10 million Stephen Lawrence Centre, in 2018 she achieved the ultimate goal of convincing the Prime Minister to introduce a day every year to commemorate the life of her son. The strength of Baroness Doreen Lawrence is extremely admirable and makes you ponder how much Stephen would have also achieved if he was alive today. 

Instead of this day being full of sorrow, I would like to instead celebrate Stephen Lawrence’s life and look forward to the impact his family’s legacy will have on future generations, on my generation and on me.

Moyin Babalola AMOS Bursary Progressive

#SLDay22 #StephenLawrenceDay #BecauseOfStephen #LegacyOfChange #LiveYourBestLife

Happy International Women’s Day

Our AMOS Bursary Sister Circle began in 2021 with the first female cohort. We are privileged to be a part of an inspirational network of black women from the AMOS Bursary staff, associates, committee members, supporters and donors whose aim is to build us up to be the leaders of tomorrow.

As young black women, this incredible support system helps address and challenge all and any limiting beliefs and strives to empower us to be the best that we can be. Some of our discussions have included issues such as:

  • The importance of female friendships and how to cultivate them
  • Being confident in our abilities and building our self-esteem
  • How to speak our minds and stay firm in our convictions
  • Confident and success in male-dominated environments
  • Maintaining our mental wellbeing
  • The fight against over-sexualisation
  • Helping people see that we can be both energetic and smart
  • How to deal with the barriers we face in society
  • Demystifying university life
  • Recognising the gaslighting of career vs. children
  • Debunking the stereotypes attached to women in the workplace
  • Articulating what it means to be a young black woman in today’s society and how that affects our life choices
  • Getting us excited about what lies ahead in the future

This International Women’s day for us is dedicated to celebrating the empowering exchange of ideas, encouragement, and motivation within our sisterhood.

The AMOS Sister Circle, we will #BreakTheBias

What’s on Your Bookshelf?

We’re always eager to share the knowledge so this World Book Day some of our alumni gave us an insight into their top reads.

The answers were nothing less than insightful so get ready for a bookshelf restock after you check these out.

  1. What book has had the biggest impact on your life to date and why?
“Since 2019, I’ve re-read this book over 4 times, bought it for my entire team and lived by all the teachings. It helped me pin down my purpose and taught me how to prioritise and win in all areas of my life (spiritually, physically, emotionally, professionally and financially). It came at a time when I would always get burned out. Thankfully since reading and taking the actions, that hasn’t happened again.”
“This showed me how ADHD can be a superpower!”
“This opened my mind to the wide range of aspects within the world of investing. It provides many great ideas on how to successfully invest in the stock market. There’s something in here for both new and experienced investors.”
“This book reinforced my understanding of how to embrace my versatility.”
“Reading this made me understand how detrimental limiting beliefs are to your capability of reaching your potential and taught me one of the mindsets universal to high achievers.”
“It’s more a business leadership book, however, in the abstract, the principles are applicable in leading one’s self to greatness. After reading it, I could instantly see the principle play out in real life.”

2. What is your number one must-read recommendation for all AB Students (other than Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which we all know is an AMOS Bursary staple!)?

3. What was the last book you read?

“We couldn’t have a book recommendation list without mentioning this staple of The AMOS Bursary”

So like we said, time for a bookshelf re-stock! If you do pick up any of the recommendations above share your own review with us in the comments. Happy Reading!