The Racial Code

LoveReading Says

Professor of Social Policy and Race at King's College London, and an esteemed expert on racial justice, Nicola Rollock’s The Racial Code - Tales of Resistance and Survival presents a must-read evaluation of the lived experiences of racism in contemporary Britain, with a powerful analysis of the scaffolding that perpetuates racism. Written with scholarly clarity and writerly style, this book is life-changing.

From successful Black professionals being mistaken for waiting staff at high profile networking events, to Black diversity board members being ignored when they raise issues about unfair recruitment processes, to foul experiences at staff parties, The Racial Code exposes the strain, pain and myriad costs of being forced to navigate racism on a daily basis. From her extensive research, Rollock has created powerful personal counternarratives that cut to the core of those lived experiences, as do the potent bullet-pointed “Surviving Babylon”, “Black Mother’s Guide to Black Sons Everywhere”, and “white person’s guide to preserving racism in the modern age” lists.

Each of the counternarratives are followed by a dissection of what happened, why it happened, and the responses of the wronged and those in power. Each of them also exposes the framework that upholds racism, white power and white privilege, and confronts the detracting, defensive and hostile responses that are typically levelled at those who expose the “foundational principles of the racial code” – responses like “you always make it about race”, “it’s racist to call white people white”, “you hate white people”, and “it’s really about class”.

As Rollock points out, while “we must have hope”, hope and the notion of having made “progress” and “change” must not serve as placating tools – before change can happen, the realities of racism must be acknowledged and analysed. With that in mind, the experiences and analysis presented in The Racial Code make it absolutely essential.

Joanne Owen

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