nov 8, 1946 - Viola Desmond and her event at New Glasglow Theatre

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Viola Irene Desmond was born on July 6, 1914, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She became a prominent activist, entrepreneur and businesswoman. Inspired by her parents, Desmond would work hard her entire life as a beautician. Although she was denied formal training for beauty and cosmetics in Halifax, Nova Scotia because of her skin colour but she travelled to Montreal and New York where she would be trained. She opened a beauty salon, created and sold her own beauty line, and started a beauty school for young black women called the Desmond School of Beauty Culture in 1937.

On her way to a business meeting in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Viola Desmond’s car surprisingly broke down in New Glasgow on November 8 1946. It was expected to take a day of repair, so Desmond booked a hotel and went to Roseland Theatre to kill time. She was denied a downstairs ticket because of the colour of her skin, but she still sat in the downstairs seats. The manager dragged her out and Viola Desmond was arrested and held in police custody for the night. In court, she was charged with attempting to defraud the provincial government when she allegedly refused to pay the 1 cent difference of an upstairs and downstairs ticket. She would be fined 26 dollars. She would pass away on February 7, 1965.

Wanda Robson, Viola Desmond’s youngest sister would continue to spread her sister’s story. Desmond’s story would become relevant decades after her death because of her sister. Due to Robson’s efforts Viola Desmonds case would be pardoned in 2010, years after her trial. Now, Viola Desmond’s story would lead her to be on the 10 dollar bank note of Canada in 2016. Her unfair treatment would inspire many today.

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