In his recent book, Writing Justice: Voicing Issues in the Third Media, York public policy & equity studies Professor Lorne Foster provides a retrospective review of the burning issues of the last decade from the perspective of Canada’s black community.
The launch for Writing Justice (Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 2011) will take place on Thursday, April 14, from 5:30 to 7:30pm at the Columbus Centre, 901 Lawrence Ave. W., Toronto. Everyone is welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served.
The book was published in recognition of the United Nations General Assembly’s proclamation of 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent.
“I want the book to serve as both an historical example of ethno-racial media in the tradition of Mary Ann Shadd and Henry Bibb, and as a critical analysis of some of the most important issues impacting the lives of people of colour in the last decade,” says Foster.
The aim of the International Year for People of African Descent is to strengthen national actions and regional and international cooperation for the benefit of people of African descent in relation to: their full enjoyment of economic, cultural, social, civil and political rights; their participation and integration in all political, economic, social and cultural aspects of society; and the promotion of a greater knowledge of, and respect for, their diverse heritage and culture.
Left: Lorne Foster
“Dr. Foster illustrates how, over the greater part of a decade, he has used his analytical skills and erudition as weapons for progressive social change. Despite covering a very wide range of topics – from leadership, human rights and race in the workplace through the language of culture and power, social problems in the city, health, urban poverty, and the immigration system – Dr. Foster keeps a steady eye on the roots, reasons and results of the issues he analyzes and provides a picture of the vitality of the communities, the hurdles they face and the efforts made to overcome these hurdles,” says Carl Thorpe, executive director of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario.
Foster has written more than 200 articles for community and knowledge mobilization publications and was nominated for two media human rights awards, “for alerting, informing and sensitizing the public with regard to the nature and value of human rights in Canada” in 2001.
He is the author of Turnstile Immigration: Multiculturalism, Social Order and Social Justice in Canada (Thompson Educational Publishing, 1998) and the co-editor of the forthcoming Balancing Competing Human Rights Claims in a Diverse Society, published by the University of British Columbia Press.
His next book will deal with the foreign credentials gap in Canada.
For more information, call the Multicultural History Society of Ontario at 416-979-2973. Attendees are asked to register in advance at mhso.mail@utoronto.ca.