Cecil Foster, a native of Barbados, is a man who wears many hats. He is a professor, scholar, journalist, author, and novelist. Foster attended the Caribbean School of Media and Communications, University of the West Indies Mona Campus in Jamaica where he pursued his journalistic studies. He migrated to Canada in the 1970s and worked for the Toronto Star, Contrast, the Globe and Mail and he was a former Senior Editor of the Financial Post. He also worked at various magazines around Toronto and the U.S. including Macleans, Toronto Life and Chatelaine. He did commentaries for Vision and CBC Television, and he hosted a one-of-a-kind talk show on CFRB that focused on urban issues.
Foster was hired by Humber and brought his knowledge and expertise as a professor to the School of Journalism in the mid-1990s to help to bridge the diversity gap in the faculty.
While at Humber, he participated in the Humber School for Writers Summer workshop in 1994. He also published his works "Sleep on, beloved" which focused on immigrant experiences, identity, and the idea of home and belonging that was nominated for a Trillium Award. Other works published during his time at Humber include “Caribana: The Greatest Celebration” and “A Place Called Heaven: The Meaning of Being Black in Canada" that was geared towards Black youth at Humber and the wider Canadian Black community.
In the 1990s, many colleges and universities in Canada, including Humber, were experiencing a rapid growth in multiculturalism and diversity issues with the influx of immigrant students from diversified backgrounds with many cultural differences. Likewise, domestic enrolment of diverse students was also increasing. These students were advocating for more diverse faculty at the institution because they had difficulty feeling a sense of belonging and identity when many could not identify nor relate to some of their professors.
In a candid telephone conversation with Foster on February 3, 2025, he pointed out that the diverse students were struggling to fit in and belong during the 1990’s. He noted that “the Journalism industry was very white during this time and journalism students were getting jobs by word of mouth and who knew who, which left the Black journalism students at a disadvantage.” He said, people were getting jobs based on their experience rather than training.
Foster was a catalyst for change as he helped in the transformation of Humber from an all-white faculty and gave Black students some representation as he served as a role model. He said his time spent at Humber was “to inspire and to let his students know that they too can learn the craft of journalism.” He wanted to give the Black journalism students hope that they could aspire to a career like his.
