Damilola: Hope triumphs over tragedy, 23 years on
The face of Damilola Taylor is one you can’t forget.
The legacy of the little boy who died after being stabbed in the leg by a gang of hooded attackers is one that will stay with many in South London and beyond, writes Claudia Lee.
Damilola was 10 when he was attacked on November 27, 2000, walking home from his computer club at Oliver Goldsmith’s Primary School past Peckham library.
He died within 30 minutes.
Two unsuccessful trials followed, but his parents, Richard and Gloria Taylor, persisted in their campaign for a conviction.
Residents were left racked with fear for the lives of children from the area, as knife crime became widely understood as something that could reach beyond those involved in gangs.
But Richard and Gloria have dedicated their lives campaigning against youth crime, to send out a positive message in the face of his heartbreak and the misrepresentation of deprived areas.
They set up the Damilola Taylor Trust, which aims to help young people in deprived and inner city areas.
In the first 10 years, the Trust implemented two major programmes.
The Extended Medical Degree Programme (EMDP) was created in 2002 in conjunction with King’s College Medical School.
The EMDP provides 25 funded places each year to give students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to study medicine.
Now in its 21st year, the EMDP has produced GPs and junior doctors for the NHS.
And the second programme, Spirit of London awards (SOLA), was an awards ceremony that recognised young people across London for their achievements in the arts, media, campaigning and education.
On December 7, 2020, on the day his son would have turned 31, Richard said: “The 20 years passed so quickly and yet it still seems like yesterday.
“Every anniversary brings back painful memories.
“There have been many happier highlights though, in these past two decades.
“So many wonderful young people the Damilola Taylor Trust has worked with.
“So many charities, corporate organisations and statutory authorities have come together to create The Hope Collective and, despite the setbacks that Covid has caused, the momentum just kept building through the partnership work.
“Now the young people who are organising the project – including members of the Damilola Taylor Trust youth advisory board – will launch the Day of Hope on December 7.
“It is all about youth activism – a day when the whole youth sector comes together to show the importance of society collaborating to give young people hope that they can achieve their dreams.”
In June Southwark council began plans for the memorial with the Hope Collective charity.
The memorial will form part of a £6million council project to remodel an area around Peckham High Street and Peckham Library.
Southwark council announced on June 1 that it had appointed a new team of architects to bring forward the square’s revamp.
The planned Damilola Taylor memorial will sit just a five-minute walk from another sculpture erected in his memory at his former school, Oliver Goldsmith Primary School in Camberwell.
His family will be holding a remembrance memorial on the 23rd anniversary of Damilola’s death, on November 26, between 2pm and 4pm, at Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens.
Damilola Taylor’s grave in Plumstead,. Pictures: PA, Grainne Cuffe, The Met