User:Geo Swan/Desmond Cole compare

From WikiAlpha
Jump to: navigation, search

Template:Userspace notes

Desmond Cole
Nationality Canadian
Occupation journalist, activist
Known for The Toronto Star was widely criticized for a reprimand that triggered Cole's resignation

Desmond Cole is a Canadian journalist and political activist.[1] He was born in Red Deer, Alberta, and was raised in Oshawa. His parents were immigrants, from Africa, who were health care professionals.

Academic career

Cole was a very active student, in high school, and was valedictorian, at his high school graduation. Cole described how he first experienced unwelcome police scrutiny when he was one of only 80 black students attending Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario - a trigger to his activism. He described in an award-winning article entitled “The Skin I’m In”[1][2][3][4][5][6] The Globe and Mail reported Mayor of Toronto John Tory said Cole's article had played a role in convincing him to retire the Toronto Police practice known as "carding" - asking for and recording the identity of youth, a technique critics like Cole described as preferentially targetting visible minority youth.[7]

CBC News released a 44 minute profile of Cole, on September 30, 2017.[8]

Career with the Toronto Star

Cole was a reporter for the Toronto Star, until April 2017.[2] Cole's departure from the Star stirred controversy.[9] Cole had been critical of a technique Toronto Police employed, called "carding" - the demand for identification from youth, that critics assert disproportionately targets non-white youth. He was reprimanded for protesting the police's decision not to destroy the records they gathered, using the technique, after it had been discontinued.[10] Cole made his reprimand public. In interviews on National media Cole described why he chose being a full time activist, rather than a journalist.

Michele Landsberg, a former Star columnist, called the StarTemplate:'s treatment of Cole a blunder. She wrote that Cole felt bound by a promise he had made to black children he had addressed during a presentation he had made during Black History Month.[11] 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.

Now the Star itself is in the news, egg splattered on its tie. In one blow, it arguably dishonoured the work of its pioneering reporters who had documented the harms of carding – and lost its strongest voice on the race issues plaguing our city.[11]

Activism

On June 29 Global News quoted Cole's opinion on a new smartphone app intended to give on the spot legal advice to individuals who find themselves stopped by Police.[5]

Awards

On December 14, 2017, PEN Canada picked Cole for its Ken Filkow Prize.[12]

Political career

Cole considered and turned down, suggestions he become a candidate for mayor of Toronto, in 2018.[13]

On July 10, 2018, Cole called on mayor of Toronto John Tory for the way he referred to two black men who injured two children with gunfire.[14] Tory called the men "sewer rats". Cole pointed out that he had not used animal terms to refer to a killer who had recently run down dozens of victims. Cole asserted Tory's language was a trigger for general racial discrimination. Cole asserted 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, that Cole felt should have the public should have been informed.[15]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Desmond Cole (2015-04-21). "LIFE The Skin I’m In: I’ve been interrogated by police more than 50 times—all because I’m black". Toronto Life. https://torontolife.com/city/life/skin-im-ive-interrogated-police-50-times-im-black/. Retrieved 2018-10-21. "In second year, when I moved into the student village, I started noticing cops following me in my car." 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Journalist Desmond Cole on How the Toronto Star Tried to Silence His Activism for Black Liberation". Democracy Now. 2017-05-25. https://www.democracynow.org/2017/5/25/journalist_desmond_cole_on_how_the. Retrieved 2018-10-21. "In his writings, Cole has long criticized the controversial police practice of carding—stopping, interrogating and collecting data on individuals without probable cause, a practice which disproportionately targets people of color in Canada." 
  3. ↑ 2015-04-22 (Codi Wilson). "Desmond Cole speaks out about racial discrimination, police 'carding'". CP24. https://www.cp24.com/news/desmond-cole-speaks-out-about-racial-discrimination-police-carding-1.2340058. Retrieved 2018-10-21. "Cole recently penned a lengthy feature in Toronto Life magazine, detailing numerous incidents where he says he was stopped by police simply because he is black. In an interview with CP24 Wednesday, Cole weighed in on the issue of racial discrimination in Toronto and other parts of Canada and condemned carding, a term used for when police stop, and in some cases, collect information from people who are not under arrest." 
  4. ↑ Antony Robart (2015-04-22). "Desmond Cole on his experiences with racial discrimination in Toronto". Global News. https://globalnews.ca/video/1955406/desmond-cole-on-his-experiences-with-racial-discrimination-in-toronto. Retrieved 2018-10-21. "Accomplished writer Desmond Cole is opening up about his experiences dealing with Toronto police as a black man in the city. Cole spoke with Global News anchor Antony Robart on what he calls “constant scrutiny” from police." 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Colin Perkel (2015-06-29). "New smartphone app offers legal advice for random police encounters". Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/2082234/new-smartphone-app-offers-legal-advice-for-random-police-encounters/. Retrieved 2018-10-21. "Desmond Cole, whose account of more than 50 police stops appeared in Toronto Life magazine in May, said such encounters spark fear and confusion. The app, he said, can act as a rights “refresher,” while the video feature can be invaluable in documenting situations." 
  6. ↑ Brian J. Barth (2018-10-15). "Canada's most prominent black activist is fighting Doug Ford. He also has a message for white liberals". Pacific Standard magazine. https://psmag.com/social-justice/desmond-cole-has-a-message-for-white-liberals. Retrieved 2018-10-24. "The 36-year-old Torontonian was a popular columnist at the Toronto Star, Canada's second-largest daily newspaper, until May of 2017, when he abruptly severed ties, saying that the paper's publisher had complained that Cole was "writing about race too often." But recent events in the Great White North suggest that race isn't being written about enough." 
  7. ↑ Elizabeth Church, Renata D'Aliesio (2015-06-07). "Toronto Mayor John Tory to introduce motion to end carding in the city". Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/mayor-tory-to-seek-end-of-police-carding/article24835593/. Retrieved 2018-10-21. "Mr. Cole credited people who spoke out against carding and shared their experiences for changing the mayor's mind. Mr. Tory cited Mr. Cole as one of those who had swayed his opinion." 
  8. ↑ Charles Officer (2017-09-30). "The skin we are in". CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/m/episodes/the-skin-were-in. Retrieved 2018-07-31. "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." 
  9. ↑ Paul Adams (2017-05-15). "JOURNALISTS AND ACTIVISM: DESMOND COLE AND THE STAR". The Canadian Journalism Project. http://j-source.ca/article/journalists-and-activism-desmond-cole-and-the-star/. Retrieved 2018-10-21. "Cole, who had become a twice-monthly Star columnist in the meantime, pursued his campaign at a meeting of the Toronto police board in late April by refusing to leave the speaker’s podium. He was protesting against the police service’s refusal to destroy information they had gathered through the now-abandoned ‘carding’ policy. The meeting was cancelled as a result." 
  10. ↑ Virginia Wright (2017-05-15). "Why Desmond Cole quit writing for The Star to be a full-time activist". CTV News. https://www.ctv.ca/YourMorning/Articles/May-2017/Why-Desmond-Cole-quit-writing-for-The-Star-to-be-a. Retrieved 2018-10-21. "At the time, Cole was a columnist for the Toronto Star. According to his account, the Star’s editor told Cole that this move was a violation of the company’s rules. Cole now had to choose between activism and his role as a journalist. He soon after quit writing for the Star." 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Michele Landsberg (2017-04-15). "Former Toronto Star columnist Michele Landsberg calls out paper's bosses for Desmond Cole "blunder"". Now magazine. https://nowtoronto.com/news/michele-landsberg-toronto-star-s-desmond-cole-controversy/. Retrieved 2018-10-21. "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." 
  12. ↑ Jane van Koeverden (2017-12-14). "Desmond Cole awarded 2017 PEN Canada/Ken Filkow Prize for freedom of expression". CBC Books. http://www.cbc.ca/books/desmond-cole-awarded-2017-pen-canada-ken-filkow-prize-for-freedom-of-expression-1.4448387. Retrieved 2018-07-31. "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." 
  13. ↑ Arianne Robinson (2018-05-01). "Politics at city hall on first day of election registration as candidates for mayor and city councillor file nomination papers". Signal Toronto. https://signaltoronto.com/politics-at-city-hall-on-first-day-of-election-registration-as-candidates-for-mayor-and-city-councillor-file-nomination-papers/. Retrieved 2018-07-31. "Among them are Saron Gebresellassi, who came to city hall with activist Desmond Cole. Cole had considered a run for mayor but announced on Sunday he wouldn’t enter the race." 
  14. ↑ Muriel Draaisma (2018-07-10). "Mayor John Tory won't apologize for calling gunmen who wounded 2 young girls 'sewer rats'". CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-mayor-john-tory-playground-gunman-sewer-rats-no-apology-1.4741055. Retrieved 2018-07-31. "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." 
  15. ↑ Marco Chown Oved (2018-10-21). "Mayoral hopeful accused of accepting ‘material support’ from John Tory’s team". Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/toronto-election/2018/10/21/mayoral-hopeful-accused-of-accepting-material-support-from-john-torys-team.html. Retrieved 2018-10-22. "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.'" 
Cite error: <ref> tag with name "Yahoo2017-06-05" defined in <references> is not used in prior text.

External links

  1. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/qa-desmond-cole-wonders-exactly-celebrating-canada-year-123309593.html
  2. https://www.ctv.ca/YourMorning/Articles/May-2017/Why-Desmond-Cole-quit-writing-for-The-Star-to-be-a
  3. https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/7312699-it-was-wrong-to-rein-in-desmond-cole-paradkar/
  4. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/mayor-tory-to-seek-end-of-police-carding/article24835593/
  5. https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/my-responsibility-is-community-safety-toronto-s-police-chief-on-carding-1.2412905
  6. https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/activist-interrupts-police-board-meeting-demanding-carding-data-destroyed-1.3377760
  7. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/mike-sholars/desmond-cole-activist-toronto-star_b_16413690.html
  8. https://globalnews.ca/news/3073439/new-carding-rules-approved-by-toronto-police-services-board-will-retain-old-data/
  9. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/50-reasons-to-love-toronto-and-a-few-to-loathe-it/article24915852/
  10. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/police-across-canada-under-growing-pressure-to-stop-carding-people
  11. https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/the-benevolent-liberal-racism-behind-desmond-coles-star-exit/
Retrieved from "http://en.wikialpha.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=User:Geo_Swan/Desmond_Cole_compare&oldid=216364"