Cecil Foster facts for kids

Cecil Foster, born on September 26, 1954, is a well-known Canadian writer, journalist, and professor. He is currently in charge of the Department of Transnational Studies at the University at Buffalo. He is famous for his books and ideas about important topics like citizenship, different cultures, and immigration.

Early Life and Education

Cecil Foster was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, on September 26, 1954. When he was two years old, his parents moved to Britain. They left Cecil and his siblings with relatives. His family faced tough times and often didn't have enough food.

Foster went to Harrison College, a respected high school in Barbados. Later, in 1978, he moved to Canada. He continued his studies and earned his PhD from York University in 2002.

Career as a Writer and Professor

Cecil Foster started his career as a reporter and editor in Barbados. He worked for the Caribbean News Agency and the Barbados Advocate News. In 1979, he moved to Canada.

In Canada, he worked for several major newspapers. These included the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. He also served as a senior editor for The Financial Post. In the mid-1990s, he advised Ontario's Ministry of Culture.

Foster is known for writing about important social issues. He often explores topics like race, multiculturalism, and immigration. He uses his own experiences to help people understand these ideas better. His book, Island Wings: A Memoir (1998), shares his life story.

He completed his PhD at York University in 2003. His studies focused on the idea of "Blackness" in Canada. He also taught sociology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

Cecil Foster is a respected novelist. He was even a judge for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize. This is a major award for Canadian fiction.

Awards and Recognition

Foster has received several awards for his writing:

• In 1997, he won the Writers' Trust of Canada's Gordon Montador Award. This was for his book A Place Called Heaven. It was recognized as the Best Canadian Book on Contemporary Social Issues.
• His novel, Sleep On, Beloved, was a finalist for the Ontario Trillium Book Prize.
• His book, Blackness and Modernity: The Colour of Humanity and the Quest for Freedom (2007), won the 2008 John Porter Tradition of Excellence Book Award. This award is given by the Canadian Sociology Association.

In 2019, he published a non-fiction book called They Called Me George: The Untold Story of Black Train Porters and the Birth of Modern Canada. This book tells the history of Black Canadian train porters. Another writer, Suzette Mayr, used this book for her research. Her novel, The Sleeping Car Porter, later won the Giller Prize in 2022.

Books by Cecil Foster

• No Man in the House - 1991
• Distorted Mirror: Canada’s Racist Face - 1991
• Caribana, the Greatest Celebration - 1995 (about Caribana)
• Sleep On, Beloved - 1995
• A Place Called Heaven: The Meaning of Being Black in Canada - 1996
• Slammin' Tar - 1998
• Island Wings: A Memoir - 1998
• Dry Bones Memories - 2001
• Where Race Does Not Matter: The New Spirit of Modernity - 2004
• Blackness and Modernity: The Colour of Humanity and the Quest for Freedom - 2007
• Genuine Multiculturalism: The Tragedy and Comedy of Diversity - 2013
• Independence - 2014
• They Called Me George: The Untold Story of Black Train Porters and the Birth of Modern Canada - 2019

See also

• Barbadian Canadian