The Racial Code

A powerful, salient and gracefully written study of the corrosive dynamics of race in Britain from a trusted voice on the subject. We can all benefit from reading it – Diana Evans
Startlingly effective as a primer for anyone interested in racial equity at work … Because it reads, in part, like a short story collection, it sets a new bar for our notions of what a workplace or business book can be – Isabel Berwick * Financial Times *
This book has done more to help me understand the microaggressions that people of colour routinely face than any other. Nicola Rollock, one of the UK’s foremost experts on racial justice, immerses us in the everyday lived experience of racism – Caroline Sanderson * Editor’s Choice, Bookseller *
A must-read book for anyone who wants to examine their own assumptions and dig deep into what it means to be, as Rollock puts it, “racialised as white”… The addition of Rollock’s own experiences and the short-story format of her case studies are what makes this book so different and valuable for anyone willing to challenge themselves and advance diversity and inclusion for all * Financial Times *
A forensic and no-nonsense unpacking of everyday racism and the often invisible ‘racial rulebook’ that dictates all of our lives. Rollock offers a simultaneously insightful yet accessible take on what the next steps in racial justice look like – regardless of where you are on your anti-racism journey, this book offers something truly eye-opening in every chapter – Yomi Adegoke
Using Nicola Rollock’s own salient insight into Black British reality, The Racial Code unreservedly explores the Black experience through a series of vivid tales from modern life. Sharp and engrossing on every turn of the page – David Lammy
Nicola Rollock brings together rigorous scholarship, personal experience, and immense empathy in this informative and insightful manual for surviving racism in contemporary Britain. Accessibly written and presented without sacrificing intellectual acuity, The Racial Code is an illuminating, painful but ultimately hopeful read that informs and inspires in equal measure. I wish I had the essential guidance and tools included in this book when I first arrived in Britain - I would have avoided much pain! – Sunny Singh
An essential guide for any institution committed to improving the experiences of their workforce. This is a book for the future: it gives us exactly the tools we need to dismantle racial injustice in our society – Baroness Doreen Lawrence
One of the most powerful elements in contemporary critical race scholarship is the use of storytelling to weave nuanced and engaging narratives that brutally expose the complex and hidden realities of racism, while never losing sight of the humanity and significance of resistance. The Racial Code is undoubtedly the very best example of counter-storytelling to have emerged from the UK to date. This unique collection of vignettes and insights will educate, anger, and move readers internationally. This is scholarship of the first order – David Gillborn, Professor of Critical Race Studies, University of Birmingham, UK

Nicola Rollock is Professor of Social Policy and Race at King’s College London. She is a member of the Wellcome Trust’s Diversity & Inclusion Steering Group and Specialist Adviser to the Home Affairs’ Select Committee’s ‘Macpherson 22 Years On’ Inquiry. She was selected by Times Higher Education as one of eleven scholars globally to have influenced the debate in higher education. She is widely known for her research which examines, for the first time in the UK, the career experiences of Black female Professors and the exhibition that led on from this, Phenomenal Women. She has written for the Guardian, the FT and Vogue and she appeared as an expert contributor in the Bafta-winning Channel 4 documentary ‘The school that tried to end racism’.

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