June 1-5
“People can first of all, educate themselves and one another. That’s why I believe in books. That’s why I believe in journalism. That’s why I believe in storytelling.” – Desmond Cole
Desmond Cole is an activist and freelance journalist in Toronto. His work also appears in the Toronto Star, Toronto Life, Walrus, VICE, NOW Magazine, Torontoist, and Ethnic Aisle. His first book titled The Skin We’re In came out in January 2020. CBC Books placed the book on its 2020 winter reading list, and it became the bestselling Canadian nonfiction book for the week of February 9–15, 2020.
Cole was born in Red Deer, Alberta on April 9, 1982 and grew up in Oshawa, Ontario.
Desmond has been documenting social justice in Toronto, and had written extensively about the black experience in this city.
His work with the Black Lives Matter movement and more recently his successful effort to remove the Toronto Police presence from TDSB schools have pushed his voice to the forefront. Desmond has also worked to address housing, social support, integration, civic engagement and justice for youth.
Information taken from: https://www.ryerson.ca/wpc-global/speakers/5-desmond-cole/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Cole