This book has a UK setting, and weaves together a narrative of everyday racism and injustice alongside research and testimonies.
There are many, many shocking examples of violation and insult, related to instances of racism which may not be against the law but are, all the same, dehumanising.

This is the best book on navigating race that I have ever read, It's true, it's righteous, and it's deeply cathartic. As a person of colour, it provides much-needed clarity on many of my life experiences. It's quite simply the guide you need to exist in the predominantly White Spaces that we live most of our lives in. It's also an essential read for any White person willing to endure the discomfort and do the necessary anti-racist work. I would give it more than five stars if I could.

An informative book on a very important subject.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Good interesting read which helps white people acknowledge their racism. Probably the quickest I have read a non fiction book

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and of course the author for gifting me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very important book that should be read by all to educate on the different racism that is received by predominantly non white people. As a white english women married to a nigerian husband with 2 beautiful daughters, I have witnessed my partner receive some horrific and unnecessary and unprovoked racism first hand which upsets and angers me. I am now having to navigate and educate myself and also at some point sadly, our daughters, on the ways they might be treated differently whilst also maintaining that they ALWAYS know that they are never any less, or any better, than anybody else, based on the colour of their skin or their culture, or any other reason. That they are beautiful humans inside and out and that there will be some/many people out there that will at some point have some negative judgement to pass.

Growing up in a predominently white area I saw a lot of ignorance and 'subtle' racist slurs that would come out, and the worst thing is that a lot of the time people were ignorant to the things they were saying or how it would effect other people, because of the way society has enabled white supremacy.

I wish a book like this could be read in schools as part of the curriculum.

Thank you very much for providing me with this copy and for the education I have also received. I will be purchasing a copy as well.

Recent events have led to a renewed interest in the concept of institutional racism. But do we really understand the term? Using stories and research, the author explains the meaning, and implication, of the concept. It is an important book..

I requested this book as I consider myself as ally. Having read the book, I find it difficult to comment constructively being white. I feel that I am no longer to have entitled to an opinion. I feel quite alienated. Black people may think 'welcome to my world' but I'm not sure that this will ever help to improve things.
I'm all for fighting racial injustice and reading some stories in this book are horribly racist. Some stories I can empathise and are clearly racist some are covert. Some are described as subconscious which makes me wonder how this can ever be corrected if the individual doesn't know what they are doing.
Some experiences I have had myself as a white woman and wonder if this is classism. misogyny or racism.
I will continue to try and educate myself and continue being the best person i can be to fight injustice,

It is an interesting book set from the British perspective rather than American.

With thanks to #NetGalley #TheRacialCode Penguin Press UK,-Allen Lane, Particular, Pelican, Penguin Clasics.

After working out a lot about her identity and what race was when she got to university, Rollock became a well-known and highly trusted academic, eventually tasked by think tank The Runnymede Trust with carrying out an independent review of progress arising from the Macpherson report of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. Finding that in particular the recommendations on approaches to race in the police force had not been addressed, she further discovered in other studies and reports later that the same was true: nothing had changed. Suspecting there was something more than institutional, a sort of code in place, to retain racist structures and maintain the White-led status quo, she researched and produced this book to share her theory, as laid out in the quotation at the top of this review. And she then goes on, after setting out terms, etc. (she uses "racialized as White" and "racialized as Black" which I think are very useful), to evidence this.

The way she gives her examples of life in the structures of racism is innovative and radical and, while I've seen composite portraits in books on psychotherapy practice (most lately Susanna Abse's), it's not something I've seen used in a book like this exploring structural racism. In each area, to do with the world of work, seeking work and promotion, being drafted in to an organisation to accomplish change, networking, when to speak up about racist statements from people, etc., she uses examples from people she's interviewed or her own experiences to weave a compelling story which shows in fictional form very powerfully what she's talking about. So we're inside the world of a middle-class, well-dressed Black man at an exclusive club who encounters an uncomfortable doorman (Black, so only showing body language), a posh White man who "doesn't see race" and a posh White woman who claims to think he's a waiter, or we meet a couple arguing in a car about whether someone should have called someone out and risked spoiling a party.

At the end of each story or group of stories is a section by Rollock detailing what she is showing here with back-up information, and there are also some short, hard-hitting vignettes with individual experiences. Particularly wince-inducing is the very clever list of "some of the ways in which white people seek to demonstrate their commitment to advancing racial justice while, in fact, holding steadfast to existing practices" which is called "A white person's guide to preserving racism in the modern age". And, as Rollock states, the footnotes are there to reference the sources but also to give tips on where and how to go deeper into various individual areas. Intersectionality is brought into play when looking at women and working class people and their experiences and the author is careful to show nuance rather than monolithic behaviour - in White people as well.

Although a lot of the statistics and situations Rollock is talking about can be encountered in other books on racial justice, this way of presenting them is visceral and really hits home. As well as more direct reportage style pieces there are a couple of savage satires near the end that are shocking - as they have every right to be, of course - and a straight-talking section on the phenomenon of people only being awoken to racism by George Floyd's murder and rushing to quickly mine books on the topic then just as quickly move on (a real risk which can be mitigated by a drip feed of reading and sharing, in my opinion, but one that needs to be borne in mind). A genuinely innovative book that will hit hard and not allow the reader to skim past stats. There's room for a range of books, of course, and I'm glad that this seems to have been commissioned before lockdown and George Floyd, giving hope that the recent resurgence in diverse publishing will continue and not suddenly lapse back down again.

Also reviewed on my blog https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2022/12/13/book-review-nicola-rollock-the-racial-code-tales-of-resistance-and-survival/

What would a fair, equal society without inherent racial bias be like?

I cannot say I am NOT racist, because, as a white woman who has grown up in a country and a culture which assumed not only the superiority of itself but the superiority of white races – whether consciously, or unconsciously – I am not the one who can claim ‘not being racist’ for myself. None of us step easily outside our own inherent cultural background.

So………….I read books like this because I want to understand where my prejudice may be unconsciously held. What is consciously seen – or brought to light, can then be recognised and worked with. I know what I know, but can’t know what I don’t know until I know it, as it were.

Rollock’s book is a mixture of quantitative and qualitative, statistics, and personal stories, illustrating the academic insights, but though the stories are real, they are often amalgamations of several stories illustrating what is expressed in the academic, from the outside, observations

Personally, I am someone who learns a lot from fiction, so reading black writers of fiction has probably hit home more for me, than this particular approach, or reading individual stories told by the person who is living that life, individual biographies

Racism settles in every speech, every gesture, every choice; it’s violence being a system and is the most rooted process of eurification, where the skin colour becomes the definition of a role socially recognised to which individualities are bonded to and they are delineated within the parameters imposed by the social system, or better, imposed by the power, i.e. the white people (or people racialises as white, in the author’s terms). Because white people are racist, because they keep and make the power in a forma that discriminates and objectifies people racialised as Black. Racism must be fought, topped, and discussed, without mincing words, without being afraid to make the perpetrators shake, to point out, to recognise the “sinner”.
“The Racial Code” is a guide for anyone who wants to understand these complex dynamics and is seeking answers on how to behave in world that doesn’t want to recognise its own evilness, is a gaze deeply towards and creatively on a painful reality. It’s urgent, precious, necessary. Brave. And Nicole Rollock is an amazing author and a brilliant researches, and this non-fiction book is the proof.
Through short stories and plays, explorative texts and articles, Rollock examines and analyses racism, collecting experiences very much different from each others, opposing opinions from the voices of very week delineated and vivid characters, including a wide range of approaches to racism and how this one is shown and what are the thousand races of discrimination. Who pretend to be humble and sympathetic, who are not afraid to express their hate, who believes they know more about racism than those who are subjected to it everyday. In firms, private clubs, Christmas parties, schools, cultural circles, in the streets, among colleagues, partners, friends, strangers. Fake diversity and inclusion policies, failing projects, fallacious beliefs, a discriminating white feminism. White women and men who perpetrated a certain kind of power relations which excludes people racialised as Black, trying to maintain the status quo. But if we really want to face racism and reversing trends, we white people must be humble and honest with ourselves, to recognise our privilege and supremacy, and make choice and build even radical policies to get tangible results, aiming to a deep transformation of the current state of art.
Many people, I think, can identify themselves in the testimonies of “Racial Code” characters, and many white people can consider it a guide to fathom what really is racism, and the evil produced. As a young white Italian woman, I can only thank the author for the opportunity to learn, because this is what we should as allies, as people who consider themselves anti-racist: listen and learn as much as possible, recognising and accepting own limits and cognitive biases, and believe the witnesses.

This book is so informative and definitely a read I would recommend to anyone want to learn about racism.
I found the way it was narrated confusing, as at the beginning I thought they were all real examples until I came across the fiction ones- so maybe the expectations should be clearer. Otherwise it would have been a 5 stars.
3.8

An unusual book, but innovative in its approach to a highly complex topic. Nicola Rollock is highly qualified and turns her years of expertise and insight into a valuable and insightful contribution to race and intersectionality in the UK.

The book offers an elegant way to explain the microaggressions that people of colour, but black people, specifically, receive even from white people who loudly protest "..they would never..."

These essays are written intelligentially and without anger, but they do not sugarcoat the current prejudices that are still enacted in places of employment, in the legal system, within medical care and in political arenas.

With quotes like, "White people can afford not to be awake. They can choose not to see. They can choose to close their eyes.
Such luxuries are not available for people of colour." I can not do justice to this book.

I understand that a certain percentage of individuals will choose not to engage with this book or enter into a space of making change. I also acknowledge that not all of these people will be white. What they will be, I'm assuming, is comfortable with the treatment 'others' receive, as long as it doesn't interfere with or impact the lifestyle they are choosing.

#TheRacialCode should be included in university libraries and the curriculum reading lists of Black studies degrees.

I want to thank @NicolaRollock for the courage and the tears (assumed) it took to write this book. I would also like to thank #PenguinPress and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is due for release on October 06, 2022.

5.0/5.0 #PenguinPress #NetGalley

An absolutely fantastic book and an absolute MUST read for white people. This book will be valuable to anyone but it was particularly nice to have a book on racism that is from a mainly British perspective as so much of the good writing on the subject is very USA centric.
Rollock’s decision to stage the book as a series of fictional scenarios with context and commentary in between is nothing short of inspired and it made the book read so easily while (I think) still imparting the same required knowledge as a weighty tome that one may stop reading in order to pick up a piece of fiction.
I only this year began my journey to becoming an active anti-racist and to authors like Nicola Rollock I am incredibly grateful.
If anyone after reading this review and then Rollock’s book want to immerse themselves more in anti racism and dismantling the systems of white supremacy then I recommend the TikTok app immensely, many black creators are giving up their time and labour there to educate us.

A very well researched book, but ultimately not for me. Firstly it was too academic and secondly I think there's enough about race out there in the media, being rammed down our throats every day. It just felt too much like being lectured for something over which I have no control. My sincere thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

An incredibly important book to read and to build an understanding - at times it can be difficult to read but that's the point, it is a very personally challenging book and you might need to find yourself in the right frame of mind to read it. But - if you keep coming back, you will continue to find a very well-researched and thought-out book, full of stories and end-notes of other research to look further.

I'm really glad I had the opportunity to read this book, and I would highly recommend everyone to take the time to read it.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no large gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book therefore a star is lost for this.

A very powerful and gripping story that is difficult to read in some parts but worth sticking with. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Stories and experiences are shared to give an insight into what it is to be faced with racism daily either directly and upfront or through microaggressions. I'm reading to learn as much as I can to be an ally as a white female getting more familiar with privilege and how this manifests from different people with different levels of privilege and how this then becomes racism.

I've picked this up, read a few pages and put it down several times and still I struggle with it. Maybe I'm just not in the right frame of mind at the moment. The topic really interestes me but the style of writing leaves me cold. The author is obviously an extremely accoplised woman and I really wanted to understand what she was saying but I'm struggling with the delivery. Sorry, this is not for me.

I was lucky enough to see Nicola Rollock speak at my workplace a few years ago, where she spoke on her Black Women Professors project, and I was struck by her clarity of speech and her insight into the multivariate ways that academics of colour struggle to succeed in a way that exceeds and compounds their other minoritised identities. So I was excited to see that Rollock had written this short and accessible book on the way that racialised people struggle in many elements of life. This is clear, accessible, timely, and impassioned. Strongly supported by endnotes, it uses a variety of case studies and examples to demonstrate the multiple ways in which race and the racial code impact many elements of our lives, and especially the lives of those racialised as Black. Supremely talented, and important reading, I think this is a valuable addition to any library.