Desmond Cole
Desmond Cole was born on April 9th, 1982 and is currently 43 years old. Desmond Cole was born in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Cole attended Queen's University.
Desmond Cole is an activist, journalist, author, and broadcaster.
He taught French in the Durham region for 2 years, before moving to Toronto at the age of 22, where he started working with at-risk youth.
During spring of 2006, he competed in Toronto’s City Idol competition and was the winner for Toronto-East York.
He has written for
NOW Magazine,
Torontoist,
The Walrus,
Toronto Life,
BuzzFeed, and
The Tyee, and was a columnist for the
Toronto Star. His activism has received some national attention, particularly on the issues of police carding, dismantling systemic racism, and racial discrimination.
“The Skin I’m In”, Desmond’s 2015 essay in
Toronto Life, explored some anti-Black racism in Toronto and across the entire province of Ontario. It chronicled how he was carded more than 50 times by the cops in Toronto. This piece was the 7th most read article of the entire decade on
Toronto Lifeand it took home 3 awards at the National Magazine Awards in 2015.
During his tenure at
Toronto Star, he rose to prominence covering racial issues in Toronto.
Desmond was the subject of
The Skin We’re In, a CBC TV documentary, which was based on his essay.
Desmond received a PEN Canada Ken Filkow Prize for freedom of expression in 2017.
He hosted a radio show on Newstalk from 2015 to 2020.
The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power won the 2020 Toronto Book Award.
From his 2015 cover story for
Toronto Life magazine, he exposed the racist actions of the Toronto cops, detailing the dozens of times that he’d been stopped and interrogated under the controversial practice of carding. This story rapidly came to national prominence, shaking the country to its core and catapulting its author right into the public sphere. Desmond used his newfound profile to draw unyielding and insistent attention to all the injustices faced by Black Canadians on a daily basis.
Both his activism and journalism find vibrant expression in this book. Puncturing the bubble of Canadian smugness and naive assumptions of a post-racial nation, he chronicles only one year (2017) in the struggle against racism in this country.
It was a year that witnessed profound and professional ramifications of Desmond’s unwavering determination to combat injustice.
This book is destined to become a crucial text for anti-racist and social justice movements in Canada, and a potent antidote to the all-too-present complacency of numerous white Canadians.
Related Authors
Fans of Desmond Cole also enjoy these authors:
- Tara Westover, author of: Educated: A Memoir.
- Gabrielle Zevin, author of: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.
- Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
- Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.
- James Patterson, author of the Alex Cross Series.
Desmond Cole: F.A.Q
When was Desmond Cole Born? How old is Desmond Cole?
Desmond Cole was born on April 9th, 1982. Desmond Cole is currently 43 years old.
Where was Desmond Cole Born?
Desmond Cole was born in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada and is Canadian.
What was the first book Desmond Cole wrote?
The first book written by Desmond Cole was The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power, published in 2020.
What was the most recent book Desmond Cole wrote?
His most recently released work was The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power on January 28th, 2020.
What is the most popular book by Desmond Cole?
Based on the number of readers on Book Notification, the most popular Desmond Cole book is
The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power. Here are his most popular books:
- The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power (10)
Are there upcoming new books by Desmond Cole?
Desmond Cole does not have any upcoming books with a set publication date within the next few months at this time.
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How many books has Desmond Cole written?
Desmond Cole has written 1 book. All of his books are Non-Fiction Books.