My Conversation with Cecil Foster

Cecil Foster

MY CONVERSATIONS WITH CECIL FOSTER

BY: NIGEL WILLIAMS

34 MELANISTIC

FOUNDATIONS

Cecil Foster is one of Canada’s journalistic trail blazers but he also bears the titles of Novelist and Academic. Each role, an expression of his efforts to tell stories that entertain and enlighten his audience. Foster’s memoir ‘Island Wings’, documents his evolution from teaching into journalism; he shares “I thought that I was doing the same thing, but I traded my classroom for a newsroom, using the same stage to tell stories.”

After island-hopping between Jamaica and Barbados, pursuing his diploma in Mass Communications and building his portfolio as a journalist, Foster eventually made his way to Toronto, Canada. “It was quite an experience, thinking I would get off the plane in Toronto and go into a newsroom….. it was very difficult” shares Foster. He discovered after a year of job hunting that Canada’s pathway into journalism began with a referral by a ‘friend’ rather than traditional application processes. The naysayers were hard to ignore as he witnessed a number of talented Caribbean journalists abandon their dreams in Toronto. While he did not set out to be an

inspiration, he was determined to be a voice to fill the glaring void of Black representation. Foster persevered and found his first position with Toronto Star as a community reporter. He leveraged this opportunity to open the door for other minorities.

“I was one of the few and one of the earliest to get into a newsroom and there was a lot of pressure that was placed on my shoulders. I went into business journalism - that is where I made my pathway and became very successful”. Foster’s rise in this niche is yet another testament of his tenacity. His application to the

35

MBA program was not accepted; not one to be easily discouraged, he shifted his attention to studies in Business Administration. This foundation gave him an edge above the other reporters; his ability to read financial statements and other corporate records made him deft at breaking business stories. “That in itself was a good thing”, reflects Foster “but it also was an indication that there was truth in the saying that ‘If you are Black you had to be

“As a reporter, I was writing for an audience that weren’t part of my community; I went home, took off my suit and became a Black man, as a menber of the Black community with my Black family.”

twice as good or run twice as hard’ to accomplish what non-Black colleagues could”.

Maneuvering spaces where he was often the only person of Colour became his norm. With this came the task of balancing what felt like a duplicitous life, “As a reporter, I was writing for an audience that weren’t part of my community; I went home, took off my suit and became a Black man, as a member of the Black community with my Black family”. This lived experience became his catalyst for writing fiction; his escape, and a means to connect his work with his community.

Foster does acknowledge the shift in media within the last ten years with some uptake in diversity and representation. However, there are more strides to be made “I believe there has to be a structural change; mainstream media and publishing haven’t done enough. What you are imagining [being more Black literature in education] will only start happening when we start to see more minority editors, minority journalists and minority decision makers.”

36 MELANISTIC