Aurora, Colorado, USA—Jacquie Abram, author of Hush Money: How One Woman Proved Systemic Racism in her Workplace and Kept Her Job, was recently featured on the Dr. Pat Show: Talk Radio to Thrive By. An international award-winning talk radio host, Dr. Pat Baccili is also a TV commentator, keynote speaker, certified career and belief coach, dynamic seminar leader, award winning author/researcher on fostering respect and trust in the workplace, inspirational speaker, and CEO of a successful motivational company. In 2013, Dr. Pat launched her international coaching initiative, Epic Living, for individuals, groups and organizations.
During the opening of the interview, Dr. Pat said she viewed the topic of discrimination based on race and gender as vital subjects for discussion and said she has been covering it most of her life because of her family and her background. Curious about the timely release of Hush Money, Dr. Pat asked Abram how she planned it.
This is what Jacquie Abram said, "The timing was based on several factors, Dr. Pat. First of all, if you know a little bit about me and my daughters, who helped me co-author this book, we ourselves have been victims of racial discrimination. My career, which spanned probably very close to two decades in higher education, was derailed multiple times over that sequence. So, if you can imagine for a minute, what it's like to be someone working in corporate America, you are not only good at what you do, you enjoy it and you're building this career you can have the American dream with. This career is going to allow you to own a house. It's going to allow you to buy a car. It's going to allow you to provide for your family, and even have money to pay your bills. And after a few years of working in this career that's going in the right direction, all of the sudden the rug is pulled from under you, and you now find yourself at risk of losing this job for no other reason than because you are Black and someone in the organization decided that you did not deserve that position, and so your career is derailed, and you have to start all over again…but is more of the same at the next company."
Bottom line: Abram says racism in the workplace is not a one-time thing that happens to Black and Brown people. It happens repeatedly and there is no safe place to build careers.
Hush Money tells a compelling and cautionary tale that is all too familiar to Black people across the globe about the rigors of working in a large, highly bureaucratic organization and dealing with covert and overt racism. Levels and types of discrimination are chronicled in the five-year journey of Ebony Ardoin, an ambitious, young, Black woman in search of a fulfilling and rewarding career path that allows her to live the American Dream.
The twisting arcs of Ebony's story reveal layers of emotional complexity and racial trauma as each new promotion invites praise, jealous rancor, and outright loathing. Organizational politics and protecting turf go hand in hand with discrimination, retaliation, intimidation, and racial hatred expressed in a variety of ways.
"The novel is visceral, stunningly well-written, and places the heated scar of racism squarely before our eyes. This is a powerful novel that deserves a place in everyone's library. Brava!" —Grady Harp, Amazon Top 100 Hall of Fame Reviewer, 5-stars
"I left corporate America after my own experiences with systemic racism traumatized and nearly destroyed me," says Abram. "Now, I spend my time trying to heal from my experiences by writing books that shine a light on systemic racism in the workplace to help others."
During her career in higher education spanning nearly two decades from 2001 to 2019, Abram was discriminated against because she was Black multiple times by multiple employers in the U.S. The same thing happened to Deborah Harris during her fifteen-year career in higher education and municipal
government spanning from 2005 to 2021. The same thing happened to Delilah Harris during her ten-year career in higher education, customer service, medical billing and coding, and property management, spanning from 2011 to 2021. In all three cases, their careers were repeatedly derailed.
"It's IMPORTANT that people see and feel how others walk through this world. For anyone in leadership, you should read this [Hush Money]. Use it as a tool to see things happening before it starts into something." —Cindy Hasselman, Founder/Chair of Unity & Equality Alliance, 5-Stars
Abram, Harris, and Harris wrote Hush Money because they want to provide those who are currently dealing with racism in the workplace with a sound strategy one Black woman used to successfully prove the existence of racism in the workplace. They also want to provide employers who are looking for a more effective way to prevent racism in their organizations with a better way to understand it. And finally, they wrote the book to provide people who have never experienced systemic racism in the workplace but are allies in the fight for equality and justice with a way to understand what modern-day racism looks and feels like by putting them into the shoes of a racial discrimination victim.
About Jacquie Abram, Deborah Harris, and Delilah Harris: Jacquie Abram, Deborah Harris, and Delilah Harris are a mother-daughter powerhouse trio, who are intensely passionate about revealing the grueling truth about systemic racism in America. They co-authored the book Hush Money: How One Woman Proved Systemic Racism in her Workplace and Kept her Job.
All three women left corporate America after experiencing racism in the workplace and suffering racial trauma.
Jacquie spends her time writing books inspired by her experiences and the experiences of her daughters and others that shine a light on systemic racism in the workplace. She hopes her books will offer courage to those who are currently experiencing racism and don't know how to fight back, those who previously experienced racism and feel alone, and those who are allies and want a deeper understanding of how to help prevent racism.
In March 2021, Jacquie also launched her career as an Antiracism Consultant, doing work that focuses on educating, training, and facilitating discussions with organizations and individuals on the impact of systemic racism in the workplace. Jacquie enjoys the camaraderie of working with her daughters and delights in her four wonderful grandchildren.
You can learn more about Jacquie and Hush Money on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Hush Money: How One Woman Proved Systemic Racism in her Workplace and Kept her Job. ASIN: B08MCD34JP, 2020, ebook: $6.45, paperback: $6.45, audiobook: $6.95, 146 pages, available on Amazon.com.
Media Contact: For a review copy of Hush Money: How One Woman Proved Systemic Racism in her Workplace and Kept her Job, or to arrange an interview with Jacquie Abram, contact Scott Lorenz of Westwind Communications Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Follow Lorenz on Twitter @abookpublicist.