Colion Noir
Collins Iyare Idehen Jr.[3] (born 1983), better known as Colion Noir, is an American gun rights activist, lawyer, and host of the web series NOIR. He has over 121 million views[4] and over 1,600,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel as of October 2020.[5]
Colion Noir | |
---|---|
Born | Collins Iyare Idehen Jr. 1983 (age 37–38)[1][2] |
Alma mater | |
Occupation | Second Amendment rights activist, attorney |
Years active | 2011-present |
Known for | Gun rights activism |
In 2013, the National Rifle Association (NRA) recruited him to appear in NRA News videos in subsequent months.[4] Later that year, he appeared at its convention in Houston.[2][6] Since then, he has become the NRA's "most prominent black commentator," as The Guardian described him in 2017.[7] As of July 2019, Noir is no longer working with the NRA since they changed to a different advertising agency, although he’s still a supportive member, he said on Joe Rogan’s podcast (#1496).[8]
He is a trustee for Walk The Talk America, which is a non-profit suicide prevention organization.[9]
Early life
Noir was born Collins Iyare Idehen Jr. An only child, his parents were an executive chef and a registered nurse, both of whom immigrated to the United States from Nigeria.[3] He spent his formative years in Houston, Texas.[2]
Education
Noir graduated from high school in Houston. He earned a political science degree from the University of Houston and a J.D. degree from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, also in Houston.[2] He first became interested in firearms while a student at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law.[7]
Business
Noir founded a website with a blog on Second Amendment issues, and he sells merchandise.[10]
Politics
Reaction to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting demonstration
In 2018, Noir said, of teenagers set to speak at a Capitol Mall demonstration against gun violence after the killings of 17 students and staff at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that:
To all the kids from Parkland getting ready to use your First Amendment to attack everyone else’s Second Amendment at your march on Saturday, I wish a hero like Blaine Gaskill had been at Marjory Douglas High School last month because your classmates would still be alive and no one would know your names, because the media would have completely and utterly ignored your story, the way they ignored his.[11]
References
- Colion Noir (April 9, 2020). Why I Fell In Love w/ This Rifle After Only 35 Rounds. YouTube.
- Hennessy-Fiske, Molly (23 July 2013). "NRA's black commentator becomes Web sensation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- Grove, Lloyd (2018-03-29). "For NRA TV'S Colion Noir, Happiness Is a Warm Gun". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
- Fox, Lauren (4 March 2013). "NRA Recruits YouTube Gun Enthusiast for Minority Ad Campaign". US News & World Report. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- Weiss, Joanna (25 June 2015). "The gun owners' argument". Boston Globe. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- Fuller, Jaime (15 May 2014). "Which NRA member are you?". Washington Post. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- Beckett, Lois (2017-06-20). "Prominent black NRA defender criticizes ruling in Philando Castile case". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
- "Colion Noir Speaks Out On His Status With NRATV".
- "About | Colion Noir". Walk The Talk America. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
- Colion Noir, retrieved November 8, 2019
- Wootson Jr., Cleve R. (24 March 2018). "NRA host taunts Parkland teens: 'No one would know your names' if classmates were still alive". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 March 2018.