A man who led a government probe into racial disparities has blasted a university for stripping him of an honorary doctorate over the “controversy” of the review.
dr Tony Sewell led the review, which found that while there were racial differences in the UK, there was no evidence of “institutional racism”.
Some criticized last year’s report, with one source calling it “tone deaf”.
The University of Nottingham said given the “political controversy” the award was no longer appropriate.
The report was commissioned by the Prime Minister in 2020 in response to the Black Lives Matter protests, when people debated race and racial differences.
In the 258-page report, Dr. Sewell that “disabilities and inequalities exist…very few of them are directly related to racism” and that factors such as geography, family influence, socioeconomic background, culture, and religion have “a greater impact on life chances than the presence of racism”.
She made several reform recommendations to the government, including further research into maternal mortality disparities, the treatment of class B drug offenses outside the criminal justice system, and changes to police control and search powers.
This has led to a new ‘inclusive Britain’ action plan announced on Wednesday.
But the report has been criticized by some, including racial equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, which said it was a “disappointment” and a denial of the existence of institutional racism.
dr Sewell said the offer selected by the university to accept the honor in 2019 was withdrawn in December.
“They said I was involved in controversy but the problem is that those controversies are changing the whole face of Britain,” he said.
“I don’t know what I did wrong. I have been confirmed.
“How can you argue when we get the government to agree that racism is a problem and a key issue in this society? That was our first task and that’s what we did.”
dr Sewell, a graduate of the university, said he had a “real PhD” and other honorary degrees there and was “not interested in being a victim.”
“The university made a decision because they didn’t want to rock the boat and it’s about money,” he said.
“They don’t feel like they wanted to be considerate of the student body, who are their paying customers. But many might be quite surprised that these decisions were made on their behalf.
“You can’t say it’s controversial. Universities should encourage that and their students to engage in debates.”
A spokesman for the university said it had strict criteria for awarding honorary degrees and that it was “deeply regrettable” that the offer to Dr. Sewell was withdrawn.
“The criteria prevent us from awarding them to figures who become the subject of political controversy,” they added.
“Since the decision to award an honorary degree in late 2019, the University’s Honorary Degrees Committee determined that Mr. Sewell became the subject of political controversy in 2021 and therefore decided that it was no longer appropriate to award the title.”
They emphasized that the decision does not mean “passing judgment on Mr. Sewell personally or expressing an opinion on his work.”
dr Sewell, chair of the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Differences, said timing of the report is crucial because people are still angry.
“People had anger and all sorts of emotions before they reached the level of acceptance,” added Dr. added Sewell.
“And when the report came out, a lot of people were still at that level and it took time to look at what we were doing, to look at the differences in the country.
“I think some people thought we kind of dismissed that emotion.”
He slammed the lobby groups and media for their coverage of it, saying that’s why “we didn’t get into the conversation that we needed to have.”
“The reality is that a year later the government listened. She has accepted all the recommendations and is tackling some of the issues,” he added.
“Black women are beginning to figure out why maternal mortality is high for them because of health disparities, and health services are trying to include more black people in clinical trials to find problems specific to them.
“It’s about how black boys are sent into the criminal justice system and the watchdog of the Race and Equality Commission is given more powers.”
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