It's Time to Talk about Race at Work

Acknowledgments

I started writing this book in September 2020 and finished it in early January 2021. It was a dark time to take on this subject: Life and business were disrupted immeasurably due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nationwide unrest, protests, riots, and violence seemed a part of daily life.

I am an optimist at heart—not in a rainbows and unicorns unrealistic way, but I do believe in hope. As the grind of the pandemic and faltering economy wore on, I found my nerves frayed and saw the same in others. I needed an anchor, a way of staying focused on knowing what I can control and what I can't, and a way of remaining hopeful when hope seemed like more of a concept than an actual feeling. I decided to anchor myself to the word resilience. Every day, I see resilient people, moving forward against difficult odds, facing their fears and obstacles, overcoming setbacks, and extending generosity to others. It's easy to be generous when times are good. What is deeply moving to me is seeing generosity when times are challenging. Everyone had their own struggles, their own problems, and their own burdens in 2020, yet so many people helped me with this book. I needed their help.

I am a White woman, and I was writing a book about race and how to talk about it at work. I don't have the personal experiences and insights that people of color and other minority groups have. I needed different perspectives to illustrate a complete picture of the challenges of talking about race at work. ...