With the politics of race and racism very much in the public eye at the moment, most educated readers should by now be aware of the key issues in the area. If we’re not directly affected, you’d hope most of us will at least have attempted to understand the feelings and perspectives of those who are. Cori J. Williams’ THRIVING WHILE BLACK does touch on everyday racism and the bigger picture, but ultimately has a much more specific angle on current race issues, looking firmly at the difficulties faced by Black Americans in corporate environments. In doing so, it takes in all kinds of different factors that might impact opportunities, and examines the numerous strains that are to be faced.

This is a fairly brief exploration of the issues involved, and the focus is a dual one: clarifying those issues from a Black perspective, and providing information that really should be taken into account by corporations and their staff. Black employees, it argues, often feel like they have to subscribe to Eurocentric beliefs in order to succeed, adjusting their very identity, and suffering a string of microaggressions. Some of these issues are deeply historically ingrained: the ‘professional dress’ standards at many companies can easily be seen as being designed to suit white culture and alienating to Black culture, for example. Others issues are more oblique, or psychological, like cases of racism-related PTSD, or the expectation of many Black employees that progress will be harder-won and laced with setbacks. In a world where much–but certainly, not all–racism has become less overt, the societal and employment structures that prevent true equality are spelled out effectively.

The book is also helpful for identifying scenarios in which race might be playing a role, as well as avoiding acts that can feel tokenistic or presumptuous. Anger and emotion, as well as explanation and historical context, are all here. While not quite a seminal book of the genre — there are plenty that provide a deeper and more narrative modern takes on issues that have haunted us for generations — the specific focus of Williams’ THRIVING WHILE BLACK is to serve as an explainer for the specific corporate target audience, and it deserves heavy and considered reading in that context.

A brief, targeted text exploring racism and related stresses faced by Black Americans in corporate environments, Cori J. Williams’ THRIVING WHILE BLACK covers the obvious, but also does a great, fact-led job of exposing the wrought emotional consequences of race issues in the professional world.

~James Hendicott for IndieReader