Join us on the 4th Thursday of each month from 5-6pm for the IWFC Calgary Chapter EDI Book Club.
The next selection for IWFC Calgary's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Book Club will be My Name is Not Harry by Haroon Siddiqui and will be hosted by Michele Stanners.
"When Bev Foy and I attended Mobsquad's launch of this book last November, I did not know what to expect. I left delighted - intrigued, informed, inspired and hopeful for Canada, a country that has struggled over decades to promote and uphold the values of immigration and multi-culturalisms. The author, Haroon Siddiqui is the Toronto Star editorial page editor emeritus, and member of the Order of Canada. Early praise for the book includes... "A terrific read about a unique and fascinating life." - Adrienne Clarkson (Former Governor General of Canada), as well as a spot on CBC Books fall reading list: 40 Canadian books to read this season." - Michele S.
Veteran Toronto Star editor Haroon Siddiqui, brown and Muslim, has spent a life on the media front lines, covering conflicts both global and local, and tracked rising xenophobia.
Canada has no official culture. It follows that there's no standard way of being Canadian, beyond obeying the law. Toronto Star editor Haroon Siddiqui shows how Canada let him succeed on his own terms.
Coming from India in 1967, he didn't do in Rome as some Romans expected him to. He refused to forget his past. He didn't change his name, didn't dilute his dignity, didn't compromise his conscience or his dissident views. Championed immigration and multiculturalism when that was not popular. Upbraided media colleagues for being white-centric, Orientalist. Pioneered cross-cultural journalism, bridging divided communities. Insisted it was un-Canadian to use free speech as a licence for hate speech. Opposed the limitless American war on terror, the invasion of Iraq, the long war on Afghanistan. Exposed how liberals could also be narrow-minded and nasty.
Here he shares such journalistic forays into the corridors of power, war zones, and cultural minefields. He also takes the reader along his personal journey from British colonial India to the evolution of Canada as the only Western nation where skin colour is no longer a fault line.
Please RSVP to confirm your attendance.
March 28, 2024 - 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85009782945
You may purchase a hard or digital copy here or support your local bookstore or public library.
Meetings:
- October 26 Permanent Astonishment: Growing Up Cree in the Land of Snow and Sky by Tomson Highway (host Bev Foy)
- November 23 The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkelby Kati Marton.(host Bev Foy)
- January 25 Everybody Matters by Mary Robinson(host Jennifer Hatfield)
- February 22 Saltus by Tara Gereaux (host Karen Prentice)
- March 28 My Name is Not Harryby Haroon Siddiqui (host Michele Stanners)
- April 25 TBD (host TBD)
- May 23 Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment by Frances Fukuyama (host Bev Foy)
- June 27 TBD (host TBD)
