Skip to main content
Gifts from The Morning Star
Countering the ‘Sewage report’
We must reject revisionist academic Tony Sewell's pro-establishment whitewash by continuing to present the facts about institutional racism in Britain, writes MARC WADSWORTH

TONY SEWELL used to have a reactionary, barely literate weekly column in the Voice, Britain’s black newspaper, which was birthed by the iconic Brixton uprising of the youth against police oppression 40 years ago. The uprising came three months after the New Cross Fire that claimed 14 young black lives and the unprecedented Black People’s Day of Action.

Sewell’s views chime with conservative elements in the black community. That’s why the equally backward Trevor Phillips also used to have a column in the paper, before I was brought in to edit and revamp it.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to have at first tried to get Phillips then settled on Sewell to chair his discredited racial disparities in the UK commission, the government’s response to the justice demands of the magnificent Black Lives Matter protests last summer.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
MEMORY SERVES US RIGHT: (L to R) Activists at The Liberation
Features / 11 April 2025
11 April 2025
MARC WADSWORTH reports from the meeting to commemorate the Sharpeville Massacre 65 years ago
Features / 22 June 2023
22 June 2023
Don’t be nostalgic about the anniversary of the boat journey that brought my father to Britain — instead of statues and ceremonies, fight for migrant justice, writes MARC WADSWORTH
Painting of the Sharpeville massacre, which took place 21 Ma
Features / 18 March 2023
18 March 2023
UN anti-racism day is not a date picked at random, but the anniversary of a turning point in the struggle against apartheid. Join us to discuss the national and international priorities for today’s black-led politics, writes MARC WADSWORTH
Police officers on the scene outside the Suites Hotel in Kno
Features / 17 February 2023
17 February 2023
The Tory government has deliberately whipped up anti-migrant feelings in a cynical attempt to draw attention away from the economic crisis it created, says MARC WADSWORTH
Similar stories
Afrikaners from South Africa arrive, May 12, 2025, at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va.
Features / 19 May 2025
19 May 2025

The plan is to stigmatise and destabilise South Africa in preparation for breaking it up while creating a confused and highly racialised atmosphere around immigration in the US to aid in denying rights to non-white refugees, explains EMILE SCHEPERS

MEMORY SERVES US RIGHT: (L to R) Activists at The Liberation
Features / 11 April 2025
11 April 2025
MARC WADSWORTH reports from the meeting to commemorate the Sharpeville Massacre 65 years ago
CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME: (L to R) Refugees Sulieman Adam and
Features / 21 February 2025
21 February 2025
This is the most anti-migrant government in decades, argues RAVISHAAN RAHEL MUTHIAH
RESISTANCE: People take part in an anti-racism march in cent
Features / 14 October 2024
14 October 2024
As Black History Month brings renewed focus on the fight against racial inequality, LUKE DANIELS argues that understanding slavery’s legacy and demanding financial reparations are key to defeating modern racism