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
A tin of sepia face powder sold by Viola Desmond
The Roseland Theatre building in New Glasgow
Roseland film theatre
The gravesite of Viola Desmond at Camp Hill Cemetery, Halifax
Portrait of Viola Desmond on permanent display at Government House, Halifax.
Launch of the Viola Desmond, a ferry operating in Halifax harbourAwards 2
Connected to Viola 6
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.
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