Anti-racism campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE is to give the latest public lecture in a University series honouring Yorkshire’s first female MP.
The annual Alice Bacon Lecture, which celebrates the achievements of pioneering women, is named for the Labour MP who led a crusade to improve the education of working class girls and boys.
Choosing women in the public eye and her personal journey as her theme, Baroness Lawrence will give her lecture online on Thursday 24 June.
“It is an honour to take part in the annual Alice Bacon Lecture, following in the footsteps of the women that have gone before me.”
She came to prominence following the death of her son Stephen, a black British teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in South East London in 1993.
Baroness Lawrence founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, which campaigned for a fairer society. She was appointed an OBE for services to community relations in 2003, and joined the House of Lords as a life peer in 2013.
Previous speakers
The inaugural Alice Bacon Lecture was given in 2018 by Harriet Harman – the House of Commons’ longest continuously serving female MP – followed in 2019 by Baroness Hale of Richmond, who was the first female President of the Supreme Court and the country’s most senior judge until her retirement from the role in December that year. The 2020 lecture was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Baroness Lawrence said: “It is an honour to take part in the annual Alice Bacon Lecture on 24 June, following in the footsteps of the women that have gone before me.
“I look forward to engaging with the attendees on the day and discussing important issues and experiences for women.”
Baroness Lawrence will be introduced by Leeds Vice-Chancellor Professor Simone Buitendijk, who said: “It is a privilege to announce that Baroness Lawrence will give this year's Alice Bacon Lecture and we are proud to add her name to the list of deeply respected women that have gone before her.”
A life in politics
Alice Bacon was elected to represent Leeds North East in 1945 and served her city constituents continuously until her retirement a quarter of a century later, when she took up a seat in the House of Lords as a Baroness.
Leeds did not return another woman to the Commons until the election in 2010 of Leeds West MP and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is also Baroness Bacon’s biographer.
Ms Reeves partnered with the School of Politics and International Studies at the University to establish the lectures in the name of her trailblazing forebear, with the aim of celebrating the achievements of successful women – locally and nationally.
Campaigning work
Ms Reeves said: “It’s wonderful to see the Alice Bacon lecture go ahead, and it’s an honour to welcome Baroness Lawrence as this year’s speaker.
“Doreen Lawrence has spent decades campaigning against injustice. Her achievements are the very essence of Labour’s values, and our mission to create a fairer, more equal society.
“As Race Relations Adviser to the Labour Party, she is leading the review into Covid’s impact on Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and advances a crucial cause, also championed by Alice Bacon who helped bring in the 1968 Race Relations Act.”
Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Professor of Politics in the School of Politics and International Studies, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Baroness Lawrence and to hear about her experiences as a campaigner and a woman politician. How these roles affect women in particular links well with key research areas in the Centre for Democratic Engagement, as well as teaching offered within the school.”
Further information
Picture credit: Official parliamentary portrait released under Creative Commons.
For media enquiries, email University of Leeds Press Officer Lauren Ballinger at l.ballinger@leeds.ac.uk.