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The mother of murdered Liverpool black teenager Anthony Walker has received an honorary degree but said she "should have been a proud mum" watching her son.
Anthony, 18, died in racially-aggravated murder in a public park in the Liverpool city region in 2005.
Paul Taylor and Michael Barton - the brother of Premiership soccer star Joey Barton - bludgeoned the teen to death with an axe in the park.
Taylor was jailed for 23 years for delivering the fatal blow to Anthony, while Barton was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years for his part in the attack.
Gee Walker was one of the esteemed recipients being honoured by Liverpool University on Tuesday during the graduations of 4,000 students at the city's Philharmonic Hall.
Anthony was hoping to study law at university and had dreams of studying at a top university before he was brutally murdered.
Speaking at the ceremony, Gee said:"Standing here in front of you today is quite daunting for me, because it should have been Anthony who is standing here, and I should have been the proud mum sitting down there applauding him.
"It's very poignant that I was chosen this year because, like you all, my son Anthony should be sitting amongst you.
"He aspired to become a lawyer and was studying law. He was one of God's best - every mother's dream child."
Gee was given the honorary degree due to her work with the Anthony Walker Foundation (AWF), a charity which promotes racial harmony and equality through education, sport and arts events.
It also supports law enforcement agencies and local communities to reduce hate crime and build safe cohesive communities.
The foundation recently held the Anthony Walker Festival where local musicians performed and promoted racial harmony in Liverpool.
Mrs Walker, who has worked tirelessly with AWF in schools and at events, said that racism is still rife nowadays, but believes there is "power in forgiveness".
She added: "This is the 21st century and when my Anthony was brutally murdered, it felt like we have reverted back into the dark ages.
"I am here to tell you that racism is rife amongst us to date and our Anthony is a true testament of that.
"He was destined for greatness in life but I believe that you cannot destroy greatness, even in death, and I refuse to allow it to happen.
"As a family we believe that there's power in forgiveness.
"We have conquered the hold of hate and anger, staying embittered has lost its grip over us.
"The inscrutable pain and sadness of losing our Anthony remain pure and has allowed us, not to get bitter, but to get better at life because we have learnt that life's not fair.
"I have learnt not to become inure to life's unpleasantness or allow what happened to Anthony destroy us or overwhelm us."
