Available Formats
Black Success: The Surprising Truth
By (Author) Dr Tony Sewell
Swift Press
Forum
7th January 2025
10th October 2024
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
305.896041
Paperback
288
Width 129mm, Height 198mm
How did the Windrush generation become so prosperous Why are Nigerians achieving so highly in the education system Why does Hollywood rush to cast Black British actors And why are so many Jamaicans winning Olympic gold And what lessons are there from these success stories for young black people in low-income communities
In this truthful and often surprising book, Tony Sewell weaves together memoir and argument to explore the drivers of black success. He traces black people's hard-won achievements back to their source: family, religion, education, hard work, discipline and the property market. He argues in favour of rejecting victimhood and low expectations and embracing high ambitions, drawing on a range of interviews and stories to offer a more exciting, sometimes visionary new view of black life in Britain today.
Black Success is essential reading not only for black Britons who are fed up with a narrative that denies them agency and responsibility, but also for anyone who wants a balanced perspective on race relations in Britain today.
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'Resounds with all the energy and enthusiasm of a man on a lifelong mission ... This is a book for our time' - The House Magazine
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'As a black Briton with Caribbean heritage, this book spoke to my heart. But it is also lovely historical read for anyone wanting to hear an alternative narrative about black people in this country. It is about time we listened to him!' - Katharine Birbalsingh, Headteacher Michaela Community School
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'Lord Sewell has written a hugely enjoyable memoir and a fascinating history of modern Black Britain. This book is rich with inspiring stories that give a more complex account of the Windrush generation than is often heard. A crusader for the truth, he weaves in important lessons from his time in journalism, living in Jamaica, and teaching in inner city schools. It's a remarkable story of a humble Brixton boy who ended up in the House of Lords. A must-read for anyone trying to understand race, racism and social mobility in Britain today' - Munira Mirza, CEO Civic Future
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'A game changer. This is a book that will outrage and even more inspire. Tony Sewell debunks the myths without ignoring the harsh facts of the black experience in Britain, and shows how we are all moving forward. Yes, moving forward! This book is excellently researched and deeply motivating' - Michael Dobbs, acclaimed writer of political thriller, House of Cards
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'Tony Sewell writes from his "learned" experience rather than simply "lived" experience. So his very stimulating book confidently demolishes fashionable but misleading theories, and thoughtfully charts and celebrates those patterns that actually do generate "Black Success"'- Rev John Root, blogger on issues of church and race at Out of Many, One People
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Born in Brixton, Lord Tony Sewell CBE has been a journalist, teacher and education expert. He was part of the team responsible for driving the transformation of Hackneys education outcomes in the early 2000s, and his charity Generating Genius has helped hundreds of young black people into STEM in business and academia. He was recently chair of the UKs governments Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, the recommendations which are now the foundations of the governments policy on tackling racial inequalities. He was awarded a CBE for his work on education and was elevated to the House of Lords in 2022. That same year he began his latest project, a farming enterprise in Jamaica.