The cost of Black excellence

What is Black Excellence Costing You?

I was six years old when my stepfather looked at my dark skin and said, "You're too dark to be successful in this world."

He was part of the Windrush generation, invited to rebuild Britain, rewarded with "No Blacks" signs and daily racism at work. The trauma the UK extracted from him, he brought home to me. I survived childhood abuse. Sleeping on park benches at 16. Being told to find someone to cook and clean for because I was too ugly for anything else.

Then I became Managing Director in building surveying, a sector with less than 1% Black representation.

Colleagues saw success. I felt extraction.

After 14 years in senior leadership, my body collapsed. The sleep deprivation, anxiety attacks, chronic pain, and constant performance finally broke me at 45.

I asked a question I couldn't stop asking: What is Black Excellence costing us?

Over 1,000 Black professionals across four countries answered:

86% work twice as hard for half the credit
85% suppress their authentic selves daily
89% pay with their health
91% have calculated their exit

This is The Excellence Tax™. And it's time to name it.

THREE THINGS YOU'LL DISCOVER IN THIS BOOK:

PROOF YOU’RE NOT IMAGINING IT

Finally, evidence that you’re not oversensitive, inadequate, or alone. The Excellence Tax™ framework names what you’ve been paying. The research proves it’s systemic extraction, not personal failing. You’ll discover: Why “working twice as hard” is extraction, not equity. How organisations profit whilst you pay with your health. The actual cost: £345,000-£1,040,000 per person over 30 years.

COMPREHENSIVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROTECTION & TRANSFORMATION

This isn’t another diversity handbook telling you to be more resilient. You’ll receive concrete strategies for Black professionals, organisations, and policymakers. You’ll gain: Clarity on when to stay versus when strategic exit protects your wellbeing. How to prioritise health over career without guilt. Why rest is reparations, not just recovery. Roadmaps for what genuine organisational transformation requires.

A FRAMEWORK FOR COLLECTIVE LIBERATION

Individual exits don't change systems. Collective refusal does. This research provides evidence for organisational accountability, policy intervention, and collective power building.

You'll understand

Why your parents/grandparents paid different forms of this same tax. How systems evolved from exclusion to extraction.

What transformation requires and how to participate.

The Excellence Tax™ has been operating for generations. This research documents it, quantifies it, and demands its elimination.