The Business of Race

In the business world, incident-driven, company position statements on Black Lives Matter or Stop Asian Hate are not proxies for the heavy lifting that will penetrate and sustain a shift in the status quo. Advancing racial equity to disrupt institutional racism requires more than a company-wide memo or a tab on a corporate website. Businesses often water down, negate or skirt this reality by touting successes from its cousin—diversity. However, you cannot advance a strategy you do not name. It's impossible to create an antiracist workplace when we avoid speaking the words "race" and "racism." Coauthored by two business women, one Black and one White, The Business of Race can help us all prepare for this transformative work. The authors outline both the inner work (raising our own individual awareness and creating new ways of thinking and being), and the outer work organizations must undertake. Woven throughout The Business of Race are interviews with dozens of business professionals across myriad industries, fields, and organizational levels. Their stories bring voice to the challenges and opportunities businesses face every day, and provide listeners with the courage and tools to openly, honestly, and effectively address the deeply complex, emotional, and intimidating dynamic of race and racism in the workplace.