The Skin We're In
A Year of Black Resistance and Power
-
-
4.3 • 122 Ratings
-
-
- $13.99
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE 2020 TORONTO BOOK AWARD
A bracing, provocative, and perspective-shifting book from one of Canada's most celebrated and uncompromising writers, Desmond Cole. The Skin We're In will spark a national conversation, influence policy, and inspire activists.
In his 2015 cover story for Toronto Life magazine, Desmond Cole exposed the racist actions of the Toronto police force, detailing the dozens of times he had been stopped and interrogated under the controversial practice of carding. The story quickly came to national prominence, shaking the country to its core and catapulting its author into the public sphere. Cole used his newfound profile to draw insistent, unyielding attention to the injustices faced by Black Canadians on a daily basis.
Both Cole’s activism and journalism find vibrant expression in his first book, The Skin We’re In. Puncturing the bubble of Canadian smugness and naive assumptions of a post-racial nation, Cole chronicles just one year—2017—in the struggle against racism in this country. It was a year that saw calls for tighter borders when Black refugees braved frigid temperatures to cross into Manitoba from the States, Indigenous land and water protectors resisting the celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, police across the country rallying around an officer accused of murder, and more.
The year also witnessed the profound personal and professional ramifications of Desmond Cole’s unwavering determination to combat injustice. In April, Cole disrupted a Toronto police board meeting by calling for the destruction of all data collected through carding. Following the protest, Cole, a columnist with the Toronto Star, was summoned to a meeting with the paper’s opinions editor and informed that his activism violated company policy. Rather than limit his efforts defending Black lives, Cole chose to sever his relationship with the publication. Then in July, at another police board meeting, Cole challenged the board to respond to accusations of a police cover-up in the brutal beating of Dafonte Miller by an off-duty police officer and his brother. When Cole refused to leave the meeting until the question was publicly addressed, he was arrested. The image of Cole walking out of the meeting, handcuffed and flanked by officers, fortified the distrust between the city’s Black community and its police force.
Month-by-month, Cole creates a comprehensive picture of entrenched, systemic inequality. Urgent, controversial, and unsparingly honest, The Skin We’re In is destined to become a vital text for anti-racist and social justice movements in Canada, as well as a potent antidote to the all-too-present complacency of many white Canadians.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Canadians like to think they live in a multicultural utopia far superior to their southern neighbours’ messy union, but Desmond Cole argues that that perception is too easy and idealistic. Cole previously captured our attention when he wrote a magazine article about his experiences with the police’s racial-profiling practices. With The Skin We’re In, he documents widespread instances of antiblack prejudice throughout Canada, as well as the work of grassroots activists, including the Black Lives Matter movement, to counter systemic racism. While the realities he writes about are grim, Cole’s focus on community organizing—including Toronto’s queer-led BLM contingent—offers a ray of optimism. This important book serves up a long-overdue dose of truth talk for Canadians.
Customer Reviews
The Skin I’m continuing to learn about…
Eye opening to read to what is happening in Canada that is not being spoken about enough. Thank you to Desmond Cole for your activism. Must Read!
Eye opener for BLM in Canada!
This book is an eye opener into the Black Lives Matter movement in Canada. It shares stories of police brutality with Black, Indigenous and LBGQT community. It further analyzes the government’s laws and support for Black Lives Matter and lack of support for immigration policies that affect marginalized communities. I’ve learned so much from this book that looks at Canadian’s own realities with stories similar to USA. I recommend this book if you want to learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement and stories in Canada. #blacklivesmattercanada #blacklivesmatter #antiracist #desmondcole #canada
Must read for black Canadians
Put a huge spot light on black lives affected by brutality at the hands of police officers I loved it black Canadians needed this contextualized on paper since there isn’t much compiled info on these tragedies thank you Desmond Cole for this book.