Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
19 November 2010
Black Woman Arrested
for Sitting in White Section
of a Nova Scotia Theatre
Nova Scotia confronts its racist past
by apologizing to Viola Desmond who was jailed
because she refused to submit to discrimination
On November 8, 1946 Viola Desmond was driving through New Glasgow, Nova Scotia when her car broke down. While the repairs were being made she decided to catch at movie at the nearby Roseland Theatre.
Blacks and Whites
Segregated in Nova Scotia Theatres
Ms. Desmond bought her ticket and went to sit in the ground floor of the theatre.
However, the theatre had a policy of allowing African-
Viola was told to move and she refused. There was no notice posted about the segregation policy although it was, apparently, strictly enforced.
Writing about the incident for Section 15, a website that gives a “feminist take on Canadian history” Frances Rooney says, “The manager ran out of the theatre and got a policeman. Together, the two men carried Viola Desmond into the street, injuring her knee and hip in the process.”
Arrested, Jailed, and Fined
Viola Desmond was taken to the local jail and held there overnight. The next day she was brought before a court and charged with tax evasion.
The “crime” she committed was sitting in the main section while paying for a balcony ticket, which was cheaper. (The theatre had refused to sell her the more expensive ticket.)
The retail sales tax was calculated based on the ticket price so the authorities decided she owed one cent in tax for the pricier entrance fee.
She was found guilty and fined $20. She was even forced the pay the theatre’s six dollars in legal fees. Viola paid the fine but challenged the decision in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
She had not been told her rights when arrested, nor told that she could hire a lawyer or question witnesses during her trial. Despite these and other errors of law, the Supreme Court upheld Viola Desmond’s conviction.
Viola Desmond Case Triggers Push Back
Halifax writer Stephen Kimber points out that the case was taken up by the fledgling Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NSAACP).
When the appeal failed “the white Halifax lawyer who’d taken on the case -
The publicity that surrounded the case and the pressure applied by the NSAACP and others led to the province repealing its segregation laws. But not until 1954.
Nova Scotia Apologizes to Viola Desmond
It might be 64 years late, but the government of Nova Scotia has offered Viola Desmond an apology for the racist way in which she was treated.
On April 15, 2010, Ms. Desmond was called a visionary, pioneer, and Canadian hero by Nova Scotia’s Premier Darrell Dexter. The comments were part of an apology delivered in Province House.
The Premier said: “On behalf of the Nova Scotia government, I sincerely apologize
to Mrs. Viola Desmond’s family and to all African-
“The arrest, detainment, and conviction of Viola Desmond is an example in our history
where the law was used to perpetuate racism and racial segregation -
However, all this is too late for the victim. Not long after the incident Viola Desmond closed her Halifax beauty parlour business and moved to New York where she died in 1965 at the age of 50.
Sources
“Doing Right by Viola Desmond.” Eva Hoare, Halifax Chronicle Herald, April 14, 2010
“Viola Desmond Unintentional Revolutionary.” Frances Rooney, Section 15, January 29, 2008
“Viola’s Vindication.” Sherri Borden Colley, Halifax Chronicle Herald, April 16, 2010.
© Canada and the World, April 2010
All rights reserved
CANADIAN
ROSA PARKS
Viola Desmond is often referred to as Canada’s Rosa Parks (shown here with U.S. civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King).
On December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks, an African-
The bus driver ordered Ms. Parks to give up her seat to a white passenger. She refused, was arrested, and fined for her act of defiance.
Rosa Parks was not the first black to challenge America’s racial discrimination laws but her protest sparked the country’s civil rights movement.
“Viola is the most recent addition to a series of important Canadian historical figures
to receive much-
“History is filled with tales of injustice. It is only on rare occasions -
“But make no mistake. It is impossible that with the stroke of a pen, and the granting of a free pardon, history is forgotten and the proverbial slate is wiped clean.”
Nova Scotia Lieutenant-