Today's blog post is written by Runnymede's director, Dr Rob Berkeley

Some justice being delivered 19 years after the murder of Stephen Lawrence is, in the words of the indefatigable Doreen Lawrence, ‘not a cause for celebration’.  The successful conviction of these brutal killers after 19 years is a stark reminder about the ways in which racism operates in our society. Stephen Lawrence was killed simply for being black. His family had to wait so long for justice simply because they are black.

In the aftermath of this court case we must resist the temptation to declare mission accomplished on tackling racism in our society. More than 100 people have died at the hands of racists in the UK since Stephen Lawrence’s murder. Many other families are still waiting for justice. The way the Lawrence family were treated was disgraceful; institutional racism, pure and simple. Despite changes in the law, our police, schools, councils and health service still regularly offer a worse service for people from black communities; black people are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police, three times more likely to be excluded from school, have to make twice as many applications before getting a job interview if they have an African or Asian sounding name, and are twice as likely to be unemployed compared to their white neighbours.

Londoners are right to be outraged at the racism that still operates in our city and across the country voices have been raised in disgust at the way in which racism and racial inequality still dictate too many people’s life chances. In response our government offers little more than rhetoric about ‘integration’ and still has no strategy to address these problems. Too many of our institutions remain in denial about the tragedy of racism. Only 3 out of the top 100 police officers in our capital are from minority ethnic backgrounds. Just 30 out of the nations 21,600 schools are led by black men. For every pound earned by a white man working in the private sector a man from an ethnic minority earns just 89p. There remain more young black men in prison this month than there are attending our top universities.

18 years is too long for the Lawrence family to wait for justice. How long should we wait for racial justice in our society? Another 18 years? Unless we are prepared to learn from the Lawrence family and fight tooth and nail for an end to racism, we will have to live with our injustice. Doreen is right, justice for Stephen Lawrence is not a cause for celebration but a call to action.

Click here to access Runnymede's report The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry 10 Years On