Race Rules Book

From Fatimah Gilliam, founder and CEO of The Azara Group, a strategy consulting firm specializing in Diversity & Inclusion, Race Rules is an innovative guidebook and comprehensive practical manual of the unwritten “rules” as they relate to race.

Drawing on decades of expertise and her experience as a Black female entrepreneur advising Fortune 500 companies, individuals, and institutions – she meets readers where they are, offering best practices and “race etiquette” on how to discuss race, apologize, forgive, and navigate through real-life “incidents” in people’s personal and professional lives.

With refreshing candor and clarity, she concentrates on the actionable and interpersonal, and offers high-profile examples of the consequences of breaking the rules. Oriented towards helping readers not only understand racism and promote cross-racial understanding, but to alter behaviors, Race Rules is essential reading for our workplaces, homes, and schools, with practical advice from someone whose family has been in the U.S. for nearly 400 hundred years.

Race Rules was published by Berrett-Koehler on January 30, 2024.

---

Author’s Background

Fatimah Gilliam began her career as a corporate attorney on Wall Street, went on to work for Citigroup overseeing its campus diversity recruiting for all its U.S. businesses, and oversaw corporate partnerships as the Head of Finance and Fundraising for North America for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning United Nations World Food Programme. Since founding The Azara Group, she has advised Fortune 500 corporations, senior executives running billion-dollar businesses, and industry thought leaders. She is a seasoned, sought-after speaker and diversity expert.

She holds a JD from Columbia Law School, a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a BA from Wellesley College.

---

FAQ

How Has Your Personal Journey Influenced Your Writing on Racism?

My writing on race relations is informed by both my personal experiences and professional expertise. Over the years, I have seen a lot of offensively egregious behavior and tackled sensitive topics in ways that don’t overly alienate people while balancing the need for critical honesty.

Given my work as a diversity expert with a lucrative consulting business advising Fortune 500 companies and senior executives on how to attract, retain, and promote diverse talent, create inclusive workplaces, and successfully lead multiracial and multicultural teams, I have listened to countless painful stories of prejudice. I’ve also advised companies trying to rebuild trust in the wake of toxic workplace incidents and discrimination. As a consultant, I’ve been asked blatantly racist questions when people really should know better but don’t. Some people are well-intentioned but clueless, while others are bona fide White supremacists clinging to privilege and power.

My insight into what people of color live and work through also comes from my lived experiences. Before starting The Azara Group, I worked in the U.S. and overseas at law firms, at Fortune 500 companies, and in the public sector. I’ve had to navigate through and endure innumerable microaggressions, including from people who believe they’re evolved, think they’re immune from being racist, and consider themselves politically liberal.

As a Black woman in America – from birth – there’s no escaping both experiencing and witnessing racism at work and in our communities. In my writing, I draw on these experiences and my astute racial acumen, which shapes my prioritization of topics to write about and the advice to offer.

Why Did You Decide to Write Race Rules?

I began writing Race Rules in late 2018. The catalyst was seeing yet another White person going viral and splashed on the news for overtly racist or racially-charged ignorant behavior. This reality of American society – pervasive and structural racism – is fatiguing and holding our country back.

My biggest takeaway as a diversity expert and Black woman is that many whites lack basic knowledge of how to interact with people of color. They’re either willfully or ignorantly blind to how they should behave and the reasons why certain conduct is offensive.

After seeing what felt like the millionth story of a White person wrongfully calling the police on an innocent person of color and watching yet another viral video of someone outing themselves as a bigot, I decided to take action. I concluded that many Americans need rudimentary advice – a guidebook of Dos and Don’ts – on racism etiquette to limit the volume of daily, negative racist encounters people of color are forced to experience. This started my journey of writing Race Rules.

What’s the Premise of Race Rules?

Simply put, Race Rules is a handbook to not offending people, labeling oneself a racist, and engaging in bigoted acts. By educating and altering behaviors, it limits the breadth of racist microaggressions, negative conduct, and hate speech people may unwittingly engage in and expose others to daily. Thus, Race Rules helps slow the malignant domino effect of race-based ignorance in American communities and helps us address the vestiges of our nation’s racist past.

Race Rules is designed to foster stronger connections with the people around us, and to move us away from painful anger, contempt, and ignorance one person at a time. It answers the public’s call for guidance and clarity on what we should do next and how we can get along. Race Rules is the timely response to demands for change during this historic watershed moment and America’s racial reckoning. This innovative book on the unwritten “rules” as they relate to race is essential reading for our workplaces, homes, and schools.

Race Rules offers behavioral guardrails for improved cross-racial interactions in a world forever altered by protests, a pandemic, and a newly-heightened understanding of systematic racism.

How Is Race Rules Different from Other Books on Racism?

Race Rules combines the informative with the simplistic since there is no other book that provides an easily-digestible educational “manual” of Do’s and Don’ts to meet the reader wherever she is in her “wokeness” evolution or lack thereof – be it on a college campus, in corporate America, or while sitting on a park bench watching her kids play.

While there are many best-selling books on race – with many flying off the shelves after George Floyd’s tragic murder – the public lacks a go-to manual guiding them on what to actually do in real-time and in their daily lives. It’s a creative guidebook and practical manual of “rules” on basic race-related topics coupled with history lessons so the reader understands why a specific “rule” should be followed, along with actionable tips, advice, and suggested talking points. It is also written in a flexible, visually-appealing format.

After picking up Race Rules, the reader will get real-world advice on how to react when stuck in a racial “what-do-I-do” quandary that can be implemented immediately. It also establishes guardrails – providing “well-intentioned” whites with solid guidance so they can stop themselves from doing something utterly offensive and hurtful that destroys relationships and labels them a racially-insensitive at best or a racist at worst.

Do You Hope to Solve Racism with Race Rules?

While one book alone cannot solve America’s centuries-old racism problem, it can help limit toxic behaviors and explain how certain actions are racially-charged and will label someone a bigot. Through using Race Rules, people can alter how they behave and minimize being a part of the problem instead of the solution.

My goal is to create a platform for ongoing learning for readers and improve daily interactions to promote an inclusive American culture across races. My book is an educational starting point that seeks to limit the outward expression of ignorance and racism – as a positive step towards national healing and understanding.

Race Rules leverages people’s desire to evolve. Through its creative and distinctive approach to tackling the taboo and vitriolic topics of prejudice, bigotry, and hate speech and explaining subtle nuances that are insulting, Race Rules shines a light on blind spots to positively bring us closer to our families, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and customers.

When Did Race Rules Go on Sale?

Race Rules was published by Berrett-Koehler on January 30, 2024. It’s available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.

Where Can Readers Buy It?

You can buy Race Rules through major retailers and wherever you buy books.  Race Rules is available now on Amazon.  But I encourage you to support your local Black-owned bookstore.

If Race Rules isn’t available at your favorite bookstore, please ask them to carry it.  If your local library doesn’t have it, ask them to order copies. 

If your employer does leadership development workshops, diversity training, corporate offsites, and celebrates cultural heritage months, encourage senior leaders to incorporate Race Rules into your career development programming.  Schools and universities can also find value in this book – either for incoming students, coursework, or faculty and staff training.  

Race Rules is a perfect gift for family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, young adults headed off to college, and community organizations.  I encourage you to read it with others to discuss it as a group.  It’s a great resource for both group and self-guided learning.

Where Can People Find Updates about Race Rules and Your Writing Journey?

You can return to this website for updates on Race Rules. You can also follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook – where I will provide updates on my writing journey, share advice about race relations, and post exciting news about the book launch, tour, and events.

LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/fatimahgilliam

Twitter – @fatimahgilliam

Instagram – @fatimah_gilliam

Facebook – www.bit.ly/FAGilliam  

YouTube – @fatimahgilliam

---

What Diversity & Inclusion Consulting Services Does The Azara Group Provide?

The Azara Group is a consulting firm that promotes the development of leaders in an increasingly competitive and diverse marketplace – providing strategy consulting services and leadership development to advance business and professional success. We help companies better attract, retain, and promote diverse talent, and develop robust diversity platforms and strategies to create a more inclusive workplace.

We advise companies in strategically addressing diversity challenges, developing sustainable solutions, and recovering from toxic race-based and gender-based crises. Our approach is not to just mitigate risk, but rather to promote more inclusive organizations, workplaces, and cultures that enable leaders and companies to thrive and better connect with clients, employees, and key stakeholders.

---

Can You Speak at My Conference, Event, or School?

I’m a frequent speaker at conferences, corporate off-sites, and events – delivering keynote speeches and workshops.

Also, I develop customized workshops and training sessions for companies, universities, and non-profits.

For more information, please email info@theazaragroup.com or call (212) 234-4550.