Desmond Cole

Desmond Cole
Cole in 2017
Born (1982-04-09) April 9, 1982 (age 42)
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • radio host
  • author
  • political commentator

Desmond Cole (born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian journalist, activist, author, and broadcaster who lives in Toronto, Ontario.[1] 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.[2][3][4][5]

Cole was the subject of a 2017 CBC Television documentary, The Skin We're In[6][7] and also hosted a radio show on Newstalk 1010 from 2015 to 2020.[8][9] 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.[10][11]

  1. ^ "Shining a light on the police: Five questions with activist Desmond Cole". The Globe and Mail. July 14, 2017. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  2. ^ "Racism not a big problem? Activist says survey shows Canadians 'in denial'". CTVNews. December 10, 2019. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  3. ^ Sun, Edmonton (July 10, 2017). "Activist Desmond Cole to speak in Edmonton amid debate on controversial police practice". Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  4. ^ Canada, P. M. N. (November 14, 2018). "Toronto 'carding' activist Desmond Cole stopped by police in Vancouver | National Post". Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  5. ^ "Activists question Federation of Black Canadians' leadership, ties to Liberals". CBC News. February 27, 2018. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference CbcFirstHandCole was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Otchere, Shantal (March 10, 2017). "Watch Desmond Cole's doc, The Skin We're In, on CBC.ca". NOW Magazine. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  8. ^ Robb, Peter. "The fire this time with Desmond Cole – ARTSFILE". Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Média, Bell. "Desmond Cole". www.iheartradio.ca. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "Desmond Cole on his new book, dismantling racist institutions and 'the pablum of diversity' | The Star". thestar.com. January 24, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  11. ^ "The top 10 bestselling Canadian books of 2020". CBC Books. December 28, 2020.