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  • Published: 20 September 2022
  • ISBN: 9780385686365
  • Imprint: Doubleday CAN Titles
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $37.99
Categories:

The Skin We're In

A Year of Black Resistance and Power




#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER · WINNER OF THE TORONTO BOOK AWARD · FINALIST FOR THE WRITERS' TRUST SHAUGNESSY COHEN PRIZE · FINALIST FOR THE FOREST OF READING EVERGREEN AWARD · FINALIST FOR THE RAKUTEN KOBO EMERGING WRITER PRIZE · BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (The Globe and Mail, NOW, CBC, Quill & Quire, Indigo) · A PENGUIN BOOK CLUB PICK

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE 2020 TORONTO BOOK AWARD
WINNER OF THE OLA EVERGREEN AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE WRITERS' TRUST SHAUGNESSY COHEN PRIZE
FINALIST FOR THE RAKUTEN KOBO EMERGING WRITER PRIZE

*UPDATED with new foreword, postscript, and educator's guide*

In this bracing, revelatory work of award-winning journalism, celebrated writer and activist Desmond Cole punctures the naive assumptions of Canadians who believe we live in a post-racial nation.
 
Chronicling just one year in the struggle against racism in this country, The Skin We're In reveals in stark detail the injustices faced by Black Canadians on a daily basis: the devastating effects of racist policing, the hopelessness produced by an education system that fails Black children, the heartbreak of those separated from their families by discriminatory immigration laws, and more. Cole draws on his own experiences as a Black man in Canada, and locates the deep cultural, historical, and political roots of each event. What emerges is a personal, painful, and comprehensive picture of entrenched, systemic inequality.
 
Updated with a new foreword, postscript, and an extensive educator's guide, The Skin We're In is essential reading for all Canadians, and a vital tool in the fight against racism.

  • Published: 20 September 2022
  • ISBN: 9780385686365
  • Imprint: Doubleday CAN Titles
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $37.99
Categories:

About the author

DESMOND COLE

DESMOND COLE is an award-winning journalist, radio host, and activist in Toronto. His writing has appeared in the Toronto Star, Toronto Life, The Walrus, NOW Magazine, Ethnic Aisle, Torontoist, BuzzFeed, and the Ottawa Citizen. The Skin We're In is Cole's first book.

Praise for The Skin We're In

Praise for The Skin We're In:

  • "A masterpiece. . . . Critically important reading." —PopMatters
  • "It is not an exaggeration to say that Desmond Cole's book should be taught in classrooms, roiling in the minds of the next generation, lauded in social justice movements. It's a striking, searing, perspective-shifting book that draws attention to the injustices faced by Black Canadians on a daily basis. . . . [Cole] seamlessly integrates historical and theoretical material with analyses of recent events, making the text informative and incisive without sacrificing emotional resonance." —Quill and Quire, starred review
  • "Cole's book stands out as a powerful call to action. A superb synthesizer, the unstoppable Cole addresses racisms of all kinds across the country, but it’s his terrific takedown of Toronto policing that stands out." —NOW