Desmond Cole: Canada's BAMF
In light of the past week of events with the deaths of both Regis Korchinski-Paquet and George Floyd, it is important to once again hit home the fact that this issue is not over and that we must uplift and empower the voices of marginalized people. Black lives for this reason do, matter.
With all that in mind I thought it would be a great time to bring to light the Canadian experience. I of course cannot speak on that experience, but I know someone who can.
Desmond Cole is a Canadian journalist who has been speaking out about race relations in Canada and more specifically on the experience many Black Canadians have when they deal with police. For today’s post I wanted to hopefully connect more people to his work. This experience is not uniquely American and should not be treated by Canadians as such. We are both former colonial countries therefore we both have colonial history. Please give this stuff a look and ask yourself some important questions. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Does hearing about these issues upset you? What part of it upsets you?
He came to my attention a few years back because of an infamous article he wrote back in 2015 for Toronto Life magazine about racial profiling he experienced in the city. He also has his own blog here, his recent book “The Skin We’re In”, is available for purchase here, as well as his Twitter which is available here. As Canadians it is important to be mindful of what is going on with our southern neighbours but more importantly we should be focusing on what we can do to help our black brothers and sisters in this country first. If you are not a person of color and want more education on the current state of policing in this country and the experiences shared by POC, please check out everything Desmond Cole has to say he is a leading voice on this issue in this country.
If any of these things move you please share the original content, the best way to have the conversation is by starting. If you know of any other Black Canadians that deserve to get more recognition for their work please let me know in the comments I would love to continue this conversation.
As long as you remember to leave your pride at the door, stay humble, be kind, and wash your hands.
