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Viola Irene Desmond (July 6, 1914 – February 7, 1965) was a Canadian civil and women's rights activist and businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent. In 1946, she challenged racial segregation at a cinema in New Glasgow , Nova Scotia , by refusing to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre .
- Early Life and Family
- Entrepreneur and Community Leader
- Roseland Theatre
- Viola Desmond’s Trial
- Significance and Legacy
Viola Desmond was brought up in a large family with 10 siblings. Her parents were highly regarded within the Black community in Halifax. Her father, James Albert Davis, was raised in a middle-class Black family, and had worked for several years as a stevedore before establishing himself as a barber. Her mother, Gwendolin Irene Davis (née Johnson), ...
In the early part of the 20th century, with the advent of new hair styles that demanded special product and maintenance, and an emphasis on fashion trends and personal grooming, beauty parlours offered opportunities for female entrepreneurs. Black women in particular were able to discover opportunity not otherwise available. Beauty parlours became ...
On the evening of 8 November 1946, Viola Desmond made an unplanned stop in the small community of New Glasgow after her car broke down on her way to a business meeting in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Told that the repair would take several hours, she arranged for a hotelroom and then decided to see a movie to pass the time. At the Roseland Theatre, Desmond...
In the morning, Viola Desmond was brought to court and charged with attempting to defraud the provincial government based on her alleged refusal to pay a one cent amusement tax (i.e., the difference in tax between upstairs and downstairs ticket prices). Even though she had indicated when she was confronted at the theatre that she was willing to pay...
Decades after her death, Viola Desmond’s story began to receive public attention, primarily through the efforts of her sister Wanda Robson. In 2003, at the age of 73, Robson enrolled in a course on race relations in North America at University College of Cape Breton (now Cape Breton University) taught by Graham Reynolds. In the course, Reynolds rel...
Viola Desmond (born July 6, 1914, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada—died February 7, 1965, New York, New York, U.S.) was a Canadian businesswoman and civil libertarian who built a career as a beautician and was a mentor to young Black women in Nova Scotia through her Desmond School of Beauty Culture.
Dec 8, 2016 · The legacy of Viola Desmond, right, has been kept alive over the decades by her sister Wanda, left. (Submitted by Wanda Robson) In 2014, Desmond was honoured on a Nova Scotia holiday .
Nov 30, 2018 · Viola Desmond is the first Canadian woman ever to be featured on a regular bank note. Her outstanding contribution to Canada was her defiance in the face of racism, an act of courage that still inspires efforts to right the wrongs of racial inequality and advance human rights.
Jan 29, 2018 · Viola Desmond helped inspire Canada’s civil rights movement by refusing to give up her seat in a movie theatre. Now, she is on the $10 bill.
Viola Desmond had been denied the protection that one expects from the Canadian justice system. When justice did prevail, it was 64 years later. In 2010, the government of Nova Scotia formally apologized to Viola Desmond's remaining family.
