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A review by mel_sh
The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power by Desmond Cole
4.75
"The Star wanted my profile but not my voice, my diversity but not my blackness."
being born and raised in canada, the racism in this country has never shocked me. i remember learning about racism in high school like it was this concept that only occurred in the united states and being told that the mistreatment of the indigenous people was a thing of the past. it was such a direct contrast from the reality i would learn growing up and especially going into college. it was in college that i took a class specifically about prejudice where i learned about desmond cole and his work and i've had this book on my radar since. even with that class and the things i've observed and researched on my own, this book is such an important and eye-opening read. so many stories told in this were news reports i couldn't believe i hadn't heard before, since they'd happened so close to home. just goes to show how good canada has gotten at hiding its skeletons. i think this book should be essential reading for canadians. we've gotten so comfortable, as a country, to pat ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves for "not being as bad as the united states" but this book proves that we are, indeed, just as bad and are really good at hushing it up and being sneaky about it. and this book only goes into depth about anti-black racism. it only scratches the surface of the appalling treatment of its indigenous people. desmond cole's writing will make you uncomfortable and it will make you feel guilty and it absolutely should. if you are angry at his words, you are part of the problem
"black people just can't win in this white supremacist construct called canada, which only exists through the ongoing genocide and subjugation of indigenous peoples and the theft and destruction of their traditional indigenous territories."
being born and raised in canada, the racism in this country has never shocked me. i remember learning about racism in high school like it was this concept that only occurred in the united states and being told that the mistreatment of the indigenous people was a thing of the past. it was such a direct contrast from the reality i would learn growing up and especially going into college. it was in college that i took a class specifically about prejudice where i learned about desmond cole and his work and i've had this book on my radar since. even with that class and the things i've observed and researched on my own, this book is such an important and eye-opening read. so many stories told in this were news reports i couldn't believe i hadn't heard before, since they'd happened so close to home. just goes to show how good canada has gotten at hiding its skeletons. i think this book should be essential reading for canadians. we've gotten so comfortable, as a country, to pat ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves for "not being as bad as the united states" but this book proves that we are, indeed, just as bad and are really good at hushing it up and being sneaky about it. and this book only goes into depth about anti-black racism. it only scratches the surface of the appalling treatment of its indigenous people. desmond cole's writing will make you uncomfortable and it will make you feel guilty and it absolutely should. if you are angry at his words, you are part of the problem
"black people just can't win in this white supremacist construct called canada, which only exists through the ongoing genocide and subjugation of indigenous peoples and the theft and destruction of their traditional indigenous territories."