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Episode 5

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Published on:

2nd Oct 2023

UK Black History - The bullet that changed a life forever

In Brixton, in 1985, at the age of 37, Cherry Groce was wrongfully shot by the police in her own home, witnessed by her 11-year-old son, Lee Lawrence and his siblings. Cherry was left paralysed from the waist down. The children were left traumatised. In April 2011 Cherry Groce eventually died from her injuries having spent 26 years in a wheelchair. At the time, the shooting sent shockwaves through a community that had become accustomed to police brutality aimed at black males - and sparked the second Brixton Uprising – an overflow of anger and frustration at the institutional and everyday racism that the Black community faced.

My special guest is Lee Lawrence, this episode marks an important point in UK Black History and Lee shares his life experiences and journey with triumphs and heartbreaks along the way.

Lee has written a book, entitled The Louder I will Sing which is available on Amazon and highly recommended - The Louder I Will Sing (Audio Download): Lee Lawrence, Lee Lawrence, Ben Bailey Smith, Candice Brathwaite, Hachette Audio UK: Amazon.co.uk: Audible Books & Originals

He is also the chair and founder of the Cherry Groce Foundation which is a charitable trust that exists to, Honour Cherry Groce so as to ensure that our future will learn from the past, build communities through the pursuit of justice and work at the root cause to prevent miscarriages of justice. Donations are gracefully excepted, click here to make a donation The Cherry Groce Memorial

NOTE: Apologies for the audio quality throughout the episode

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About the Podcast

Diversity Matters
The show where every voice is welcome, and every story is celebrated.
In this podcast series, Mike moves away from the traditional DE&I rhetoric, to get a better understanding of what diversity, equity and inclusion actually means for us as individuals. Are we seeing real change? Do you feel a greater sense of belonging in your workplace and community? Each week Mike and his guest open an honest dialogue on a specific DE&I topic, some discussions will be inspirational, others might be a little uncomfortable but hopefully all will be interesting and thought provoking.

About your host

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Mike Sealy

Mike is currently the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director with a world leading exhibition and event organiser, he leads, coordinates, and champions the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging efforts across the business to ensure the long-term sustainability of the D&I strategy in relation to the company’s colleagues, customers, content and communities.
Through his own lived experiences, he is deeply passionate about fairness, equity, and inclusion for all. He is a dedicated coach, mentor, motivator, and podcaster who regularly speaks at events and on discussion panels both to corporate colleagues and students in education. He speaks candidly on his work and social experiences to create awareness of the issues and opportunities within diversity and inclusion as well as to help build confidence, freedom, and motivation in others.
Mike is British with Afro-Caribbean heritage. He is thought leader with a strong client centric and customer experience mindset and has demonstrable experience of leading teams across complex international matrixed organizations possessing a strong track record of delivering results. He has held senior leadership positions at Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and the BBC, leading and setting up businesses and organizations and has won awards for management and execution excellence in the process.