Tony Sewell

Tony Sewell was born in Brixton in 1959 and grew up in Penge, Bromley. Sewell's parents arrived in London in the 1950s from Jamaica. During his childhood, Sewell was a member of the scouts and much of his adolescence was spent in Church youth-group activities in and around Sydenham.[3]

In 1981, Sewell graduated from the University of Essex where he studied English Literature.[4]

After graduating from University, Sewell was employed as a school teacher in Brent. Sewell left this role to teach in Jamaica where he was based for two years.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he wrote a weekly social commentary column for The Voice newspaper.

In 2012, Sewell was appointed by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to chair an inquiry into the challenges faced by London’s primary and secondary schools.[5] The inquiry's findings resulted in the government agreeing to provide £26 million to improve teacher's subject knowledge as part of the London Schools Excellence Fund.[4][6]

In October 2015, Sewell was appointed as a member of the Youth Justice Board.[6]

In July 2020, Sewell was appointed chair of a Government Commission tasked with looking into race disparity in the UK. Sewell's appointment was criticised by the Muslim Council of Britain who argued that Sewell was "keen on downplaying race disparities".[2]

Sewell has attracted criticism from some of his views.

In 2006, Sewell claimed that boys were being failed by schools because lessons had become too "feminised".[7] Sewell's comments were criticised by John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders. Dunford accused Sewell of making "sweeping generalisations" and argued that "Schools have put an immense amount of effort into raising boys' achievement in recent years, just as they did for girls in the previous years".[8]

In 2010, Sewell wrote an article in Prospect magazine in which he argued that "much of the supposed evidence of institutional racism is flimsy".[9] Speaking in July 2020, Sewell explained that he did believe that "racism exists in structures", but added: "I do think some of the disparities there may not have origins in race. They could be rooted in class, different geographies, or different powers".[2]

In July 2020, The Guardian revealed that in 1990 Sewell published a column in the Voice newspaper in which he said:

We heterosexual are sick and tired of tortured queens playing hide and seek around their closets. Homosexuals are the greatest queer-bashers around. No other group of people are so preoccupied with making their own sexuality look dirty.

In response to The Guardian's story, Sewell apologised and said that his comments were “wrong and offensive”.[10]

In 2016 Sewell was awarded a CBE for his work in education.

In 2017 Sewell was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in law from the University of Exeter

In 2018 Sewell became an Honorary Fellow of University College London.

In 2018 Sewell was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of law from the University of Essex in 2019.[11]

• Garvey's children: the legacy of Marcus Garvey. London: Voice Communications, 1987.
• Jamaica Inc.. London: The X Press, 1993.
• Keep on Moving: The Windrush Legacy - The Black Experience in Britain from 1948. London: Voice Enterprises, 1998.
• Black Masculinities and Schooling: How Black Boys Survive Modern Schooling. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books Ltd, 1996.
• Generating Genius: Black Boys in Love, Ritual and Schooling. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham, 2006.