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Many Canadians know that Viola Desmond is the first Black,
non-royal woman to be featured on Canadian currency. But fewer know
the details of Viola Desmond's life and legacy. In 1946, Desmond
was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in a whites-only
section of a movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Her
singular act of courage was a catalyst in the struggle for racial
equality that eventually ended segregation in Nova Scotia. Authors
Graham Reynolds and Wanda Robson (Viola's sister) look beyond the
theatre incident and provide new insights into her life. They
detail not only her act of courage in resisting the practice of
racial segregation in Canada, but also her extraordinary
achievement as a pioneer African Canadian businesswoman. In spite
of the widespread racial barriers that existed in Canada during
most of the twentieth century, Viola Desmond became the pre-eminent
Black beauty culturist in Canada, establishing the first Black
beauty studio in Halifax and the Desmond School of Beauty Culture.
She also created her own line of beauty products. Accessible,
concise and timely, this book tells the incredible, important story
of Viola Desmond, considered by many to be Canada's Rosa Parks.
In 1946, Viola Desmond was wrongfully arrested for sitting in a
whites-only section of a movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
In 2010, the Nova Scotia Government recognized this gross
miscarriage of justice and posthumously granted her a free pardon.
Most Canadians are aware of Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her
seat on a racially segregated bus in Alabama, but Viola Desmond s
act of resistance occurred nine years earlier. However, many
Canadians are still unaware of Desmond s story or that racial
segregation existed throughout many parts of Canada during most of
the twentieth century. On the subject of race, Canadians seem to
exhibit a form of collective amnesia. Viola Desmond s Canada is a
groundbreaking book that provides a concise overview of the
narrative of the Black experience in Canada. Reynolds traces this
narrative from slavery under French and British rule in the
eighteenth century to the practice of racial segregation and the
fight for racial equality in the twentieth century. Included are
personal recollections by Wanda Robson, Viola Desmond s youngest
sister, together with important but previously unpublished
documents and other primary sources in the history of Blacks in
Canada."
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