There she was met by the Elmo Langille, chief of police, and MacNeil - the pair left together, returning an hour later with a warrantįor Desmond’s arrest. Desmond was dragged out of the theatre, injuring her hip and knee in the process, and taken to jail. When she declined to leave her seat, a police officer was called. She added that she had attempted to exchange it for a main floor ticket and was willing to pay the difference in cost but had been refused. Refused, saying, “I’m sorry but I’m not permitted to sell downstairs tickets to you people.” Realizing that the cashier was referring to the colour of her skin, Desmond decided to take a seat on the main floor anyway.ĭesmond was then confronted by the manager, Henry MacNeil, who argued that the theatre had the right to “refuse admission to any objectionable person.” Desmond pointed out that she had not been refused admission and had in fact been sold the ticket, which Thinking that a mistake had been made, Desmond returned to the cashier and asked her to exchange the ticket for one downstairs. Walking into the main floor seating area, she wasĬhallenged by the ticket-taker, who told her that her ticket was for an upstairs seat, where she would have to move. The ticket seller handed Desmond a ticket to the balcony instead, the seating generally reserved for non-White customers. Then decided to see a movie to pass the time.Īt the Roseland Theatre, Desmond requested a ticket for a seat on the main floor. Told that the repair would take several hours, she arranged for a hotel room and 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 Was no law against racial discrimination in Canada. Louis St-Laurent, informing him that, “even in uniform a Black man could not be served in any Dresden restaurant.” The Deputy Minister’s reply simply stated that there Burnett promptly wrote to the federal Minister of Justice, To his dismay, the owner would not serve him. In 1943, Hugh Burnett went to a restaurant in Dresden, Ontario, ( See also Prejudice and Discrimination.) In a way, the “unofficial” character of Canadian racism made it more difficult to navigate. Sometimes the limits were difficult to foresee. Were aware that an unwritten code constrained their lives. In December 2016, the Bank of Canada announcedĪlthough racism was not officially entrenched in Canadian society, Black persons in Canada, and certainly in Nova Scotia, In 2010, Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis issued Desmond a free pardon. Refusal to accept an act of racial discrimination provided inspiration to later generations of Black persons in Nova Scotia and in the rest of Canada. Viola Desmond was named a National Historic Person by the Canadian government in 2018. That Viola Desmond would be the first Canadian woman to be featured by herself on the face of a banknote - the $10 note released on 19 November 2018. In December 2016, the Bank of Canada announced In 2010, Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis issued Desmond a free pardon. Despite the efforts of the Nova Scotian Black community to assist her appeal, Viola Desmond was unable to remove the charges against her and went unpardoned in her lifetime. Legal representation for an obscure tax offence as a result. Viola Desmond was arrested, jailed overnight and convicted without When she refused to leave the segregated Whites-only section of the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. In 1946, Viola Desmond challenged racial discrimination Viola Desmond built a career and businessĪs a beautician and was a mentor to young Black women in Nova Scotia through her Desmond School of Beauty Culture. Viola Irene Desmond (née Davis), businesswoman, civil rights activist (born 6 July 1914 in Halifax, NS died 7 February 1965 in New York, NY).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |