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Viola Desmond

Canadian activist (1914-1965) · Canada · Activists · Died at 50

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Viola Irene Desmond was a Canadian civil and women's rights activist and businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent. In 1946, she challenged racial segregation at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, by refusing to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre.

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Photos 7

Awards

Canada's Walk of Fame2017
Person of National Historic Significance

In common with Viola

Activists from Canada 2

About this person

Viola Irene Desmond was a Canadian civil and women's rights activist and businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent. In 1946, she challenged racial segregation at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, by refusing to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre. For this, she was convicted of a minor tax violation for the one-cent tax difference between the seat that she had paid for and the seat that she used, which was more expensive. Desmond's case is one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history and helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada.

Country
Canada
Category
Activists
Type
Activist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1914 to 1965 · aged 50

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