Professor Nicola Rollock mixes a bitter sweet cocktail of unflinching empirical research and undeniably soulful anecdotes, to serve the reader with a powerful and intoxicating narrative which commands attention. With a seducing grip, Rollock’s tales shakes free the often accepted veil of bias to reveal the naked truth of racism, in all its dimensions.

Rollock vividly captures real stories, boldly told and illustrating – in full colour – the various dimensions and dynamics of racism. Like Miles, a successful lawyer, is mistaken for the waiter at a networking event. Femi is on the verge of breakdown having been consistently overlooked for promotion at her university. Nigel’s emails, repeatedly expressing concern about his employer’s forthcoming slavery exhibition, are ignored. Carol knows she can’t let herself relax at the work Christmas party…

The Racial Code is not about the overt acts of random people at the fringes of society, which we only ever get to hear about sometimes and often some time after the event. No, this is all about the everyday, the ever present racism hiding in the throwaway remark, the benign banter that never really goes away. This is an engrossing study of Race in Britain.

The Racial Code is an unprecedented examination of the hidden rules of race and racism that govern our lives and how they maintain the status quo. Interweaving narrative with research and theory, acclaimed expert Nicola Rollock uniquely lays bare the pain and cost of navigating everyday racism — and compels us to reconsider how to truly achieve racial justice.

In this exceedingly well-informed book, Nicola shares tales, tips and strategies which further establishes her credentials as one of the UK’s leading voices on racial justice. These tales ring painfully true precisely because they echo many of the lived experiences of those in the Black community.

A Powerful, insightful and engrossing study of the ugly manifestations of racism in Britain today. We all benefit from reading The Racial Code.

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. Nicola is also the co-author of ‘Colour of Class’ published by Routledge in 2015 and has written several articles for the Guardian. Nicola appeared as the co-presenter and expert contributor in the Bafta-winning Channel 4 documentary ‘The school that tried to end racism’ [2020].