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Viola Desmond Impact On Society

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Viola Desmond Viola Desmond, a Canadian businesswoman and civil rights activist, is widely recognized for her pivotal role in challenging racial segregation in Canada during the mid-20th century. Despite facing discrimination and injustice, Desmond's courageous act of defiance has left an indelible mark on the fight for racial equality. This essay will explore the life and legacy of Viola Desmond, highlighting her impact on Canadian society and her enduring status as a symbol of resistance. Viola Desmond was born on July 6, 1914, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to James Albert and Gwendolin Irene Davis. Growing up in a middle-class African Nova Scotian family, Desmond faced racial discrimination from an early age. However, her parents instilled in …show more content…

The Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NSAACP) organized protests and launched a public awareness campaign to challenge racial segregation. Their efforts eventually led to the repeal of segregation laws in Nova Scotia in 1954, a significant step towards racial equality in Canada. Viola Desmond's legacy extends far beyond her legal battle. In 2010, nearly fifty years after her death, the Government of Nova Scotia posthumously pardoned her, recognizing the injustice she faced and the enduring significance of her actions. In addition, in 2018, Desmond became the first Canadian woman to appear on the face of a regularly circulating banknote, cementing her status as an iconic Viola Desmond's courageous stand against racial segregation serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for equality in Canada and beyond. Her act of defiance not only challenged discriminatory policies but also inspired generations of activists to fight against injustice. Desmond's legacy lives on through the acknowledgment of her contributions, the commemoration of her image on Canadian currency, and the enduring significance of her story in the ongoing pursuit of equality and social

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512 Words | 3 Pages

Facts Viola Irene Desmond was a Black Nova Scotian businesswoman who challenged racial segregation at a film theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia in 1946. Unaware that the tickets sold to African Canadians in the theatre were for the balcony and the main floor was reserved solely for white patrons, she bought a ticket and took a seat on the main floor. Theatre staff demanded that she go to the balcony, but she refused. The police arrested her immediately and the following morning, despite not having done anything wrong, she was fined $20 and charged with defrauding the Government of Nova Scotia of the difference in the tax between a ground floor and a balcony seat, which amounted to one cent. Issue Should an individual’s right to freedom from discrimination based on race, creed, or colour be considered above the freedom of commerce?

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846 Words | 4 Pages

Certainly, the case exposed the underhanded method of tax evasion as a means in which to punish Desmond for violating the invisible cods of conduct in the private sector venue of the Roseland Theater. The legal judgment of owing “one cent” for a tax violation was the ultimate decision of the court. This “echo” of the Jim Crow laws defines the underlying resistance to desegregation in Nova Scotia, which made an impact on the social consciousness of the people. The judgment of the courts in relation to the purchase of a ticket, which would eventually galvanize the Civil Rights Movement in Canada. These factors define the sentencing of the Desmond case as another means in which a racially motivated legal institution would lay the foundations for Civil Rights actions against these underhanded methods of legal enforcement of racism in

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855 Words | 4 Pages

An advocate of “fundamental social transformation”, this belief, combined with Ella Baker’s consistent confidence of change beginning within the local people of the movement, paved her path to becoming a life-time activist for civil liberties and equality among all Americans. (194) While she may be renown amongst Civil Rights enthusiasts, Baker’s involvement and impact on the movement remains relatively unknown to the majority of Americans. Barbara Ransby’s book Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement attempts to end this silence, and does so very convincingly. Throughout her book, Ransby points out example-after-example of how Baker is either directly or indirectly involved with many of the Civil Rights Movement’s most famous moments – creation of the NAACP, freedom rides, the SCLC, Birmingham, Albany, the SNCC, etc. After reading about her dedication and the sacrifices she made for the

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1429 Words | 6 Pages

She had many community supporters. “Her choice to resist the status quo, and the level of community support she received [such as the Clarion and the NSAACP,] reveals a mobilization for change among members of Nova Scotia’s Black population who were no longer willing to endure life as a second class citizens” . Her bravery is remembered and commemorated today because Desmond had the courage to stand up for her own right. And even though she lost the case she

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754 Words | 4 Pages

Most people only recognise the “popular” black leaders like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. However, many other black leaders impacted society as well. The first-ever female African American judge, Jane Matilda Bolin, defended justice and equality during the Civil Rights Movement. She served New York’s Family Court for about 4 decades, helping children and women of color to gain their “necessary public funds.”

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641 Words | 3 Pages

The reading this week brought to my attention that historic events have a way of repeating themselves. In Folklore of the Freeway, Eric Avila explains that during the “Freeway Revolt” there were different ways that communities organized and the types of issues they were fighting against. These issues and organization structures mirror current day protests. Likewise, the connections between how women were treated with respect to protests during the “Freeway Revolt” and the recent Women's match are astounding. In the context of these two events, white women are seen as saints for fighting a fight that doesn’t affect them, while women of color as ridiculed for making a big deal out of nothing.

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1593 Words | 7 Pages

June Callwood is one of the greatest representatives of contemporary Canadian history and being considered that means that person has left an impressive impact affecting the lives of Canadians as we know it. Callwood's social contributions include her help to the homeless, women’s help, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer plus (LGBTQ) community. Her political impacts include her influence on the rights of women, her numerous foundings of organizations to support those in need, and providing society with information for change. Her journalistic achievements include her work in women’s rights, organizational change, and her journalistic inputs of founding many unions, leading the way for women writers, and providing society with brilliant, educating works. Without the lasting impression Callwood

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Susan B Anthony is not just a lady whose face was put on a coin. She was a courageous woman felt strongly about social reform, especially woman’s rights, temperance and abolishing slavery. She spent her whole life helping others and fighting for her beliefs. Her ideals consumed her personal life, but had long lasting effects on society, even after her death.

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Mary Ann Shadd’s determination and perseverance got her further in her journey to eliminate segregation among Canadians, this action itself created

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239 Words | 1 Pages

This small act of defiant created the “Dominoes Effect”, her soft and humble voice made a loud and long impact on Canadian society (Thomson, Colin A. 1986). Viola small movement of civil disobedience and discourse prompted a larger organisation to create a chain of civil events to liberate and unify African Canadian to act against the unwritten broken rules of Jim Crow laws that are were practice in provinces across Canada (Thomson, Colin A. 1986). Viola Desmond case was an important one to the NAACP, as they saw this as an opportunity to highlight black issues so they organize three different marches (Walker, Barrington 2012) . The first event was a rally, held on January 1947, this was to raise fund to pay for Viola’s defense. The second

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553 Words | 3 Pages

Susan B. Anthony In 1872 there were plenty of people who opposed a woman’s right to vote, but Susan B. Anthony grew up in a Quaker Family that believed in equal opportunities for everyone, men, women, and all races. She was taught that everyone had a right to speak and to be educated, even women. So when she tried to register to vote in an upcoming election, she wound up being arrested and fined $100(1,915.48), which she never paid.(United States) This began her lifelong pursuit to assure that other women would be able to vote.

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487 Words | 2 Pages

She became widely recognized for her speech, “Education and the Elevation of the Colored Race”, participated in the underground railroad (helping slaves escape to Canada), and fought African American’s and women’s rights. Harper is a cofounder/ vice president of the National Association of Colored Women is known as the, “Mother of African American Journalism” and. Decades after her passing (February 22,1911),

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1225 Words | 5 Pages

As black women always conform under patriarchal principles, women are generally silenced and deprived of rights because men are entitled to control everything. Women are silenced in a way that they lose their confidence and hesitate to speak up due to the norms present in the society they live in. Hence, even if women have the confidence to try to speak, men wouldn’t bother to listen since men ought to believe that they are superior to women. In addition to that, women often live in a life cycle of repetitions due to patriarchal principles since women are established to fulfill the roles the society had given them. It is evidenced by Celie as she struggles to survive and to define oneself apart from the controlling, manipulative, and abusive men in her life.

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621 Words | 3 Pages

Many black people of both genders were stripped of their rights and dealt with racial discrimination. Viola Desmond is a perfect example of one of many black women. In mine and countless others opinions, I believe that Viola Desmond was a strong, independent and inspiring person. She created history by sticking up for herself and numerous women around the world. She is a great influence for today’s youth and many generations

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749 Words | 3 Pages

Resulting in the absence of Ethos in her

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