Lawrence was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to community relations in 2003, and was created a life peer in 2013.

[2] On the first national Stephen Lawrence Day on 22 April 2019, she described how she had worked for 26 years hoping for "an inclusive society for everyone to live their best life, regardless of gender, race, sexuality, religion, disability or background".

[7] Following the murder of their son Stephen in 1993, Doreen and Neville Lawrence claimed that the Metropolitan Police investigation was not being conducted in a professional manner, citing incompetence and racism as prime flaws.

[8] In 1994 the Lawrences initiated a private prosecution of five of the suspects, but the evidence was insufficient, resulting in their acquittal, and no prospect of subsequent conviction due to the double jeopardy law.

In 1999, after years of campaigning, and with the support of many in the community, the media[9] and politics, a wide-ranging judicial inquiry was established by Jack Straw, the Home Secretary.

The public inquiry was the subject of intense media interest, which became international when it concluded that the Metropolitan Police was "institutionally racist.

She founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust[13] to promote a positive community legacy in her son's name.

[17] In August 2014, Lawrence was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

[19] In October 2019, Lawrence attracted criticism for her on-camera remarks concerning the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy made during an interview with Channel 4 News.