Book recap: The Skin We're In by Desmond Cole

I finished reading The Skin We're In by Desmond Cole last night. It enlightened me on a number of subjects, reminded me of some recent events, and made me aware of some events I didn't know had happened. It helped me solidify some ideas and unlearn/relearn some things. I still have some questions though. I'm here to learn and I want to be able to call out specific examples of systemic racism, so here are some of the examples Cole discusses in his book. 

  • Carding is a police policy that includes stopping individuals for no apparent reason and collecting their personal information and the people they associate with, which is then stored in a database for no specific reason to be used for whatever reason in the future. I don't begin to understand who conceived of this policy, but I'd like to learn more. I hope to learn more about this topic from Robyn Maynard's book Policing Black Lives. Where did it come from? How would anyone think this would do anything but create a culture of distrust? It's "innocent until proven guilty," not the other way around. If I was carded while hanging out with a friend who was eventually charged with a crime, would the information in that database implicate me in some way? Would it make the cops more interested in me? How terrifying!
  • White supremacy plus policing leads to police brutality toward racialized people, neglect of duties, providing substandard quality of care. Murders or serious injuries at the hands of police. Innocent people going about their business and being criminalized for no reason. And a culture of covering up these crimes so they get away with it. I doubt we would find a case in which a Black cop killed another Black man. I can't say for sure, but it sounds unlikely.
  • In a case where a refugee was removed from his parents' home at a young age and placed in the system and that system neglected to fight for his rights (i.e., filing for his Canadian citizenship), he ended up in the prison system and at risk of being deported to his home country as a stateless person. His life was at risk. CANADA DID THIS TO HIM! NOBODY WHO GREW UP IN CANADA SHOULD EVER HAVE THESE FEARS! And I would imagine that the rights of a white kid wouldn't have been neglected in such a way. Child protection, of all systems, should be treating all kids with an equitable standard of care. 
  • Police officers in schools. I never thought anything of this, but I never thought about it from the perspective of a racialized person. I wouldn't have felt like I was under surveillance if cops had been stationed in my high school. I wouldn't have been compelled to run the other way if I saw them. To fear them. To worry about being arrested by them. White girl, open your eyes! Connection made. I get it now.
I might not have covered everything, but these are the topics that stick in my mind as I reflect on this read. As I develop a lens for calling out examples of systemic racism, there is definitely a lot of learning to do. And a lot of questions that continue to come up for me. I'm going to keep reading and watching and learning and questioning. It's my job. That's why I'm here. 

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