Desmond Cole
{{Short description|Canadian journalist, activist, and writer (born 1982)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Desmond Cole
| image = Desmond Cole at the Ontario Federation of Labour - 2017 (38674878892) (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| alt = close-up photo of Desmond Cole wearing a bright red t-shirt with a black lanyard, grinning directly at camera
| caption = Cole in 2017
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|4|9}}
| birth_place = Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
| occupation = {{hlist|Journalist|radio host|author|political commentator}}
| known_for =
}}
Desmond Cole (born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian journalist, activist, author, and broadcaster who lives in Toronto, Ontario.{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/shining-a-light-on-the-police-five-questions-with-activist-desmond-cole/article35699268/|title=Shining a light on the police: Five questions with activist Desmond Cole|date=July 14, 2017|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=January 28, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814092113/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/shining-a-light-on-the-police-five-questions-with-activist-desmond-cole/article35699268/|archive-date=August 14, 2017}} He was previously a columnist for the Toronto Star and has written for The Walrus, NOW Magazine, Torontoist, The Tyee, Toronto Life, and BuzzFeed. Cole's activism has received national attention, specifically on the issues of police carding, racial discrimination, and dismantling systemic racism.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/racism-not-a-big-problem-activist-says-survey-shows-canadians-in-denial-1.4724713|title=Racism not a big problem? Activist says survey shows Canadians 'in denial'|date=December 10, 2019|website=CTVNews|language=en|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218070410/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/racism-not-a-big-problem-activist-says-survey-shows-canadians-in-denial-1.4724713|archive-date=December 18, 2019|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://edmontonsun.com/2017/07/10/carding-activist-desmond-cole-to-speak-in-edmonton-amid-debate-on-controversial-police-practice/wcm/63e93fa1-f862-45ab-a232-482581dcc7fe|title=Activist Desmond Cole to speak in Edmonton amid debate on controversial police practice|last=Sun|first=Edmonton|date=July 10, 2017|language=en-CA|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709114337/https://edmontonsun.com/2017/07/10/carding-activist-desmond-cole-to-speak-in-edmonton-amid-debate-on-controversial-police-practice/wcm/63e93fa1-f862-45ab-a232-482581dcc7fe|archive-date=July 9, 2019|access-date=January 28, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/toronto-carding-activist-desmond-cole-stopped-by-police-in-vancouver|title=Toronto 'carding' activist Desmond Cole stopped by police in Vancouver {{!}} National Post|last=Canada|first=P. M. N.|date=November 14, 2018|language=en-CA|access-date=January 28, 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/black-canadians-scrutiny-1.4549853|title=Activists question Federation of Black Canadians' leadership, ties to Liberals|date=February 27, 2018|website=CBC News|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321195202/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/black-canadians-scrutiny-1.4549853|archive-date=March 21, 2019}}
Cole was the subject of a 2017 CBC Television documentary, The Skin We're In{{Cite web|url=https://nowtoronto.com/api/content/91dcecfa-05ac-11e7-bff4-0aea2a882f79/|title=Watch Desmond Cole's doc, The Skin We're In, on CBC.ca|last=Otchere|first=Shantal|date=March 10, 2017|website=NOW Magazine|language=en-us|access-date=January 28, 2020}} and also hosted a radio show on Newstalk 1010 from 2015 to 2020.{{Cite web|last=Robb|first=Peter|title=The fire this time with Desmond Cole – ARTSFILE|url=https://artsfile.ca/the-fire-this-time-with-desmond-cole/|access-date=December 28, 2020|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Média|first=Bell|title=Desmond Cole|url=https://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-1010/audio/podcasts/desmond-cole-1.3640691|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=www.iheartradio.ca|language=en-CA}} His first book, The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power, was released in January 2020 and became the bestselling Canadian book that year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2020/01/24/desmond-cole-on-his-new-book-dismantling-racist-institutions-and-the-pablum-of-diversity.html|title=Desmond Cole on his new book, dismantling racist institutions and 'the pablum of diversity' {{!}} The Star|date=January 24, 2020|website=thestar.com|language=en|access-date=January 28, 2020}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=December 28, 2020|title=The top 10 bestselling Canadian books of 2020|url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-top-10-bestselling-canadian-books-of-2020-1.5848908|access-date=|website=CBC Books}}
Early life
Cole was born in Red Deer, Alberta, grew up in Oshawa, Ontario, and went to secondary school in Whitby.{{Cite web|url=https://thevarsity.ca/2006/11/06/the-audacity-of-cole/|title=The audacity of Cole|date=November 6, 2006|website=The Varsity|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213234241/https://thevarsity.ca/2006/11/06/the-audacity-of-cole/|archive-date=December 13, 2019|url-status=live}} He attended Queen's University for two years before dropping out, stating that "University is now job training, and I think that’s nonsense." After teaching French in the Durham region for two years, he moved to Toronto at age 22,{{Cite web|url=https://www.tvo.org/article/why-toronto-writer-desmond-cole-sees-every-uniformed-police-officer-as-a-threat|title=Why Toronto Writer Desmond Cole Sees Every Uniformed Police Officer as a Threat|website=TVO.org|language=en|access-date=January 28, 2020}} where he began working with at-risk youth. In the spring of 2006, Cole competed in Toronto's City Idol competition and was the winner for Toronto-East York. The winners of the competition were assisted in running for city council in the fall of 2006, and Cole placed third in Ward 20 Trinity-Spadina in the 2006 Toronto municipal election, at age 24.
Career
="The Skin I'm In" and tenure as ''Toronto Star'' columnist (2015–2017)=
Cole's 2015 essay for Toronto Life "The Skin I'm In", explored anti-Black racism in Toronto and across the province of Ontario. The piece chronicled how Cole was carded over fifty times by police in Toronto.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/06/canada-overdue-reckoning-anti-black-racism|title=Canada is overdue for a reckoning with its anti-black racism {{!}} Tayo Bero|last=Bero|first=Tayo|date=November 6, 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=January 28, 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218063134/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/06/canada-overdue-reckoning-anti-black-racism|archive-date=December 18, 2019|url-status=live}} The piece was the seventh most read article of the decade on Toronto Life and won three awards at the 2015 National Magazine Awards.{{Cite web|url=https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-lifes-20-most-popular-stories-of-the-decade/|title=Toronto Life's 20 most popular stories of the decade|date=December 26, 2019|website=Toronto Life|language=en-US|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228142535/https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-lifes-20-most-popular-stories-of-the-decade/|archive-date=December 28, 2019|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://magazine-awards.com/en/tag/desmond-cole/|title=Desmond Cole|website=National Magazine Awards|date=March 9, 2017 |language=en-CA|access-date=January 28, 2020}} The essay was subsequently the basis of a 2017 CBC Television documentary film, The Skin We're In, directed by Charles Officer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/episodes/the-skin-were-in|title=The Skin We're In|last=Officer|first=Charles|date=2017|website=CBC}} Cole also hosted a weekend talk show on CFRB radio from 2015 to 2020.{{cite web |title=Desmond Cole – February 9, 2020 |url=https://www.iheartradio.ca/newstalk-1010/audio/podcasts/desmond-cole-february-9-2020-1.19884577?mode=Article |website=NewsTalk 1010 |access-date=March 11, 2024|quote="Desmond says goodbye after 5 great years at Newstalk1010."}}
During his time as a columnist for the Toronto Star, beginning in September 2015, Cole rose to prominence covering issues of race in Toronto.{{Cite web|url=https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-police-to-begin-collecting-race-based-data-in-january-1.4737508|title=Toronto police to begin collecting race-based data in January|date=December 19, 2019|website=Toronto|language=en|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220144528/https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-police-to-begin-collecting-race-based-data-in-january-1.4737508|archive-date=December 20, 2019|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/police-across-canada-under-growing-pressure-to-stop-carding-people|title=Vital intelligence gathering or meddling? Police across Canada under growing pressure to stop carding people {{!}} National Post|last1=News|last2=Canada|date=April 25, 2015|language=en-CA|access-date=January 28, 2020}}
==Resignation from column==
In May 2017, Cole resigned from his bi-monthly column at the Toronto Star after being told by his editor he had violated the newspaper's rules on journalism and activism by protesting a Toronto Police Services Board meeting over the Toronto police practice of carding and racial profiling. Commentators pointed to contradictions in the Star{{'s}} admonishment of Cole, and cited the Star{{'s}} long history of employing and supporting columnists who engage in activism.{{Cite web|url=https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/the-benevolent-liberal-racism-behind-desmond-coles-star-exit/|title=The 'benevolent liberal racism' behind Desmond Cole's Star exit – Macleans.ca|website=www.macleans.ca|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213010754/https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/the-benevolent-liberal-racism-behind-desmond-coles-star-exit/|archive-date=February 13, 2019|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/05/12/it-was-wrong-to-rein-in-desmond-cole-paradkar.html|title=It was wrong to rein in Desmond Cole: Paradkar {{!}} The Star|website=thestar.com|date=May 12, 2017 |language=en|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809001128/https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/05/12/it-was-wrong-to-rein-in-desmond-cole-paradkar.html|archive-date=August 9, 2019|url-status=live}}
Michele Landsberg, a former Star columnist, called the Star{{'s}} treatment of Cole a blunder. She wrote that Cole felt bound by his promise to black children he had addressed during a presentation during Black History Month.
Landsberg contrasted the support the Star had provided for the feminist activism she advocated during her 25 years as a Star columnist, with its lack of support for Cole.
=Continued activism (2018–2019)=
On December 14, 2017, PEN Canada picked Cole for its Ken Filkow Prize, for freedom of expression. Towards the end of 2017, speculation arose that Cole was thinking about running for mayor of Toronto; however, Cole later announced that we would not enter the race.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/10/11/will-desmond-cole-run-for-mayor-of-toronto-hes-thinking-about-it-keenan.html|title=Will Desmond Cole run for mayor of Toronto? He's thinking about it: Keenan {{!}} The Star|website=thestar.com|date=October 11, 2017 |language=en|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214182343/https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/10/11/will-desmond-cole-run-for-mayor-of-toronto-hes-thinking-about-it-keenan.html|archive-date=December 14, 2019|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/04/29/desmond-cole-will-not-run-to-become-toronto-mayor.html|title=Desmond Cole announces he won't run to become Toronto mayor {{!}} The Star|website=thestar.com|date=April 29, 2018 |language=en|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214182303/https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/04/29/desmond-cole-will-not-run-to-become-toronto-mayor.html|archive-date=December 14, 2019|url-status=live}}
On July 10, 2018, Cole criticized mayor of Toronto John Tory for referring to two black men who injured two children with gunfire as "sewer rats". Cole pointed out that he had not used animal terms to refer to Alek Minassian, who had recently perpetrated the Toronto Van Attack. Cole asserted Tory's language was a trigger for general racial discrimination and that dehumanizing offenders made rehabilitation more difficult.
On October 21, 2018, the eve of the election for mayor of Toronto, the Toronto Star reported that Cole claimed candidate Saron Gebresellassi had accepted a list of contact numbers from incumbent mayor John Tory of which Cole felt the public should have been informed.
=''The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power'' (2020)=
{{Main|The Skin We're In (book)}}
Cole's first book, The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power, was announced in 2019{{cite news|url=https://nowtoronto.com/api/content/5a1fd134-2e75-11ea-9528-1244d5f7c7c6/|title=10 books we're excited to read in 2020|last=Edwards|first=Samantha|date=January 6, 2020|work=NOW Magazine|language=en-us|access-date=January 28, 2020}} and released on January 28, 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/536075/the-skin-were-in-by-desmond-cole/9780385686341|title=The Skin We're In by Desmond Cole|website=Penguin Random House Canada|language=en|access-date=February 21, 2020}} The books focuses on 2017 and chronicles a year "in the struggle against racism in Canada."{{cite news|url=https://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/these-are-the-books-to-watch-in-2020/|title=These are the books to watch in 2020 – Macleans.ca|date=December 31, 2019|work=Macleans magazine|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120010750/https://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/these-are-the-books-to-watch-in-2020/|archive-date=January 20, 2020|access-date=January 28, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://nowtoronto.com/api/content/fc986644-3bcf-11ea-a83d-1244d5f7c7c6/|title=Desmond Cole wants to dispel Canada's "magical thinking" on race|last=Price|first=Neil|date=January 27, 2020|work=NOW Magazine|language=en-us|access-date=January 28, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-cbc-books-winter-reading-list-40-books-to-read-to-kick-off-2020-1.5442796|title=The CBC Books winter reading list: 40 books to read to kick off 2020|date=January 28, 2020|work=CBC Books}} CBC Books placed the title on its 2020 winter reading list, and it became the bestselling Canadian nonfiction book for the week of February 9–15, 2020.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5468854|title=The bestselling Canadian books for the week of Feb. 9–15, 2020|work=CBC Books|access-date=February 20, 2020}} The book saw a surge in sales in late May to early June 2020, corresponding to protests across the United States and Canada against anti-black racism and police brutality.{{cite web| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/anti-racism-books-sales-spike-1.5597039| title = Anti-racism books see massive sales spike amid police brutality protests {{!}} CBC News}} It later became the bestselling Canadian book of 2020 and was also named one of the ten best Canadian nonfiction books of the year.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=December 1, 2020|title=The best Canadian nonfiction of 2020|url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-best-canadian-nonfiction-of-2020-1.5822569|access-date=|website=CBC Books}} In 2021, the book was nominated for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.{{cite news |url=https://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/entertainment/national_entertainment/article_04d8ecdd-a6c5-50e3-bea3-74182b5e5465.html |title=Desmond Cole, Celina Caesar-Chavannes among finalists for political writing prize |agency=Canadian Press |newspaper=The Daily Courier |location=Kelowna |date=June 2, 2021 |access-date=June 2, 2021}}
In the aftermath of the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Cole argued for the defunding of the Toronto Police and the redistribution of funds to mental health services and initiatives to address poverty and systemic racism.{{Cite web|date=June 1, 2020|title=Police brutality continually treated like a 'one-off' in Canada, says Desmond Cole|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-june-1-2020-1.5592953/police-brutality-continually-treated-like-a-one-off-in-canada-says-desmond-cole-1.5592954|website=CBC Radio}}
In July 2020, Cole was named one of CBC Books' "Writers to Watch".{{Cite web|title=The CBC Books Writers to Watch list: 24 Canadian writers on the rise in 2020|url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-cbc-books-writers-to-watch-list-24-canadian-writers-on-the-rise-in-2020-1.5666130|website=CBC Books}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=
|url = https://torontolife.com/city/life/skin-im-ive-interrogated-police-50-times-im-black/
|title = LIFE The Skin I'm In: I've been interrogated by police more than 50 times—all because I'm black
|work = Toronto Life
|author = Desmond Cole
|date = April 21, 2015
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181024073606/https://torontolife.com/city/life/skin-im-ive-interrogated-police-50-times-im-black/
|archive-date = October 24, 2018
|access-date = October 21, 2018
|url-status = live
|quote = In second year, when I moved into the student village, I started noticing cops following me in my car.
}}
|url = https://nowtoronto.com/news/michele-landsberg-toronto-star-s-desmond-cole-controversy/
|title = Former Toronto Star columnist Michele Landsberg calls out paper's bosses for Desmond Cole "blunder"
|work = NOW magazine
|author = Michele Landsberg
|date = April 15, 2017
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181011033127/https://nowtoronto.com/news/michele-landsberg-toronto-star-s-desmond-cole-controversy/
|archive-date = October 11, 2018
|access-date = October 21, 2018
|url-status = live
|quote = Since the province passed new rules making arbitrary street checks illegal, Cole argued, the Board should stop making the information already gathered, much of it illegally, available to police.
}}
|url = https://www.thestar.com/news/toronto-election/2018/10/21/mayoral-hopeful-accused-of-accepting-material-support-from-john-torys-team.html
|title = Mayoral hopeful accused of accepting 'material support' from John Tory's team
|work = Toronto Star
|author = Marco Chown Oved
|date = October 21, 2018
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181022013624/https://www.thestar.com/news/toronto-election/2018/10/21/mayoral-hopeful-accused-of-accepting-material-support-from-john-torys-team.html
|archive-date = October 22, 2018
|access-date = October 22, 2018
|url-status = live
|quote = Cole published the post on social media two days before the municipal vote {{'}}out of fear Saron would continue to keep her actions from the community.{{'}}
}}
|url = http://www.cbc.ca/books/desmond-cole-awarded-2017-pen-canada-ken-filkow-prize-for-freedom-of-expression-1.4448387
|title = Desmond Cole awarded 2017 PEN Canada/Ken Filkow Prize for freedom of expression
|work = CBC Books
|author = Jane van Koeverden
|date = December 14, 2017
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180802014047/http://www.cbc.ca/books/desmond-cole-awarded-2017-pen-canada-ken-filkow-prize-for-freedom-of-expression-1.4448387
|archive-date = August 2, 2018
|access-date = July 31, 2018
|url-status = live
|quote = Cole has become a sought-out voice on issues faced by marginalized communities. In April 2017, he was removed from a Toronto police board meeting for protesting how the police board was handling the case of Dafonte Miller.
}}
|url = http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/m/episodes/the-skin-were-in
|title = The skin we are in
|work = CBC News
|author = Charles Officer
|date = September 30, 2017
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180815020940/http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/m/episodes/the-skin-were-in
|archive-date = August 15, 2018
|access-date = July 31, 2018
|url-status = live
|quote = Following celebrated journalist Desmond Cole as he researches his hotly anticipated book, this documentary from acclaimed director Charles Officer pulls back the curtain on racism in Canada.
}}
|url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-mayor-john-tory-playground-gunman-sewer-rats-no-apology-1.4741055
|title = Mayor John Tory won't apologize for calling gunmen who wounded 2 young girls 'sewer rats'
|work = CBC News
|author = Muriel Draaisma
|date = July 10, 2018
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180719212559/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-mayor-john-tory-playground-gunman-sewer-rats-no-apology-1.4741055
|archive-date = July 19, 2018
|access-date = July 31, 2018
|url-status = live
|quote = Mayor John Tory has described men responsible for a playground shooting as 'sewer rats.' Journalist and activist Desmond Cole objects to that language, saying it exposes black people to more danger.
}}
}}
External links
- {{Twitter}}
- [https://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/episodes/the-skin-were-in The Skin We're In (documentary)] on CBC
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Desmond}}
Category:People from Red Deer, Alberta
Category:Journalists from Alberta
Category:21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers
Category:21st-century Canadian male writers
Category:Canadian talk radio hosts
Category:Canadian newspaper journalists
Category:Canadian people of Sierra Leonean descent
Category:Black Canadian non-fiction writers
Category:Black Canadian broadcasters