‘One Step Forward, Two Steps Black’: Chief People Officer Marcelle Moncrieffe-Newman on navigating racism in the workplace

Dr Marcelle Moncrieffe-Newman, Chief People Officer at City St George’s, University of London, launched her debut book at an event at Bayes Business School with guest speakers including former NBA player John Amaechi and Shaun Wallace of The Chase fame.

The book, ‘One Step Forward, Two Steps Black: Navigating Anti-Black Workplace Culture’, is an exploration of the systemic barriers faced by Black professionals in the UK workplace.

The event opened with a welcome address from Professor Andre Spicer, Dean of Bayes Business School, and an introductory talk from Professor John Amaechi OBE. John was the first ever Briton to play professional basketball in the NBA and is now a keynote speaker, organisational psychologist and Professor of Leadership at the University of Exeter Business School.

John introduced the event’s topic of racism in the workplace by discussing inclusion and how we can advocate for change both on an individual and societal level. He told the audience to "demand competence" and to acknowledge the biases we all carry so we can be more thoughtful in how we act.

John then introduced Marcelle, who spoke about the story behind her debut book. She described the book as a ‘practical playbook’ on how to spot anti-Black culture, how to interrupt it and how to build workplaces where progress for underrepresented staff is more sustainable.

I wrote this book because for years, I’ve seen something striking in our workplaces: Black and ethnically diverse professionals being told to ‘bring their whole selves to work’ in cultures that were never really designed with us in mind.

“In my career and in my PhD research, Black colleagues at every level kept telling me a familiar story: they were talented, ambitious and committed. They were used to overdelivering. And still, they hit invisible walls that nobody wanted to name. I realised we don’t just have a diversity gap; we have an ethnicity career progression gap that keeps repeating itself.”

Marcelle said she did not want to produce a confidential report that would disappear into a filing cabinet and instead sought real testimonies, clear research and hard evidence that people could access easily.

The book puts forward a six-step model for racial inclusion which includes: committing to anti-racism as an organisation, listening to the lived experience of individuals, fostering inclusive talent management, ensuring organisational expertise in equity and inclusion, and addressing the ethnicity progression gap within organisations.

Marcelle took part in a Q&A with Shaun Wallace, the English barrister, lecturer and television personality who regularly appears as one of the six ‘chasers’ on the ITV quiz The Chase.

Marcelle and Shaun spoke about her journey of writing the book, advocating for racial inclusion and working with others to highlight their experiences in the workplace. Marcelle said:

I’ve come across so many brilliant Black and ethnically diverse individuals that have disappeared completely from organisations. The issues and challenges that they’re going through need to be brought to the fore and what I wanted to do here is spotlight their experiences and make sure they are shared more broadly.

The event closed with a drinks reception and book signing, with guests networking and sharing their views on the topics discussed that evening.