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History Daily

The Murder of Stephen Lawrence

History Daily

Airship | Noiser | Wondery

History

4.42.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 April 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

April 22, 1993. Eighteen-year-old Stephen Lawrence is murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in London, England.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:04.1

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0:06.0

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0:10.5

or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoHistory.com.

0:32.6

Thank you. It's around 10.30 p.m. on April 22nd, 1993, at a bus stop in southeast London, England. 18-year-old student, Duane Brooks, peers at the timetable as his friend Stephen Lawrence

0:38.3

fidgets to keep warm in the cold spring air.

0:41.3

Stephen is an aspiring architect the same age as Dwayne.

0:44.3

Boys have known each other since the start of high school, and they've spent the evening

0:48.3

at Stephen's uncle's house playing video games.

0:51.3

When the time came for them to head home, they decided the quickest route

0:54.5

would be to change buses here on Well Hall Road. But they've been waiting for a while now,

1:00.0

and the bus hasn't arrived. The delay is starting to make Duane nervous. The area they're in,

1:05.3

Eltham, is a predominantly white suburb. And as black boys, Duane doesn't feel he or Stephen is safe.

1:11.8

He's heard too many stories of other black Londoners getting harassed or attacked here.

1:17.0

So Stephen wanders farther up the street looking for any sign of their bus.

1:21.2

Duane calls after him asking if he can see anything.

1:24.7

But before his friend can answer, Duane hears another voice. A group of six white

1:29.8

teenagers has appeared on the opposite side of the street. One of the boys shouts a racial slur.

1:35.3

Then they all rush across the road. Dwayne bolts in the opposite direction, screaming

1:41.3

at Stephen to do the same, but Stephen doesn't have the time. When Dwayne

1:45.6

glances back, he sees a white boy strike Stephen with what looks like an iron bar. Stephen falls

1:51.8

to the ground and is instantly engulfed by the rest of the pack. There's a flurry of kicks and punches,

...

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