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Viola Desmond Facts & Worksheets

Viola Desmond, in full Viola Irene Desmond, was a successful black businesswoman. Desmond was jailed, convicted, and fined for defiantly refusing to leave a whites-only seat of a movie theatre in 1946.

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Viola Desmond, in full Viola Irene Desmond, was a successful black businesswoman. Desmond was jailed, convicted, and fined for defiantly refusing to leave a whites-only seat of a movie theatre in 1946. Desmond’s court case was an inspiration for the pursuit of racial equality in Canada.

See the fact file below for more information on the Viola Desmond or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Viola Desmond worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND CAREER

  • Viola Desmond was born on July 6, 1914, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  • She was one of the ten children of James Albert and Gwendolin Irene Davis.
  • Viola grew up in a large family with her grandparents. Their family was active in the black community in Halifax, Nova Scotia, despite the fact that her mother was white and her father black, uncommon for the time.
  • Growing up, Desmond dreamed of opening a beauty salon for black women and set her sights on addressing the need.
  • However, she discovered that Nova Scotia’s beauty schools did not allob Black students to train to become a beautician.
  • Instead of giving up her dream, Desmond left Halifax and trained to be a hairdresser and beautician in Montréal and the United States.
  • Upon finishing her training, Desmond went back home to start her own hair salon. Some of her clients were Portia White and a young Gwen Jenkins, later the first black nurse in Nova Scotia.
  • Aside from the salon, she also operated a beauty school called The Desmond School of Beauty Culture to help black women not have to travel as far as she did to receive proper training.
  • Catering to women from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec, her school using the framework of vertical integration. Learners were given the skills required to open their own businesses and provide jobs for different black women within their communities. Every year as many as 15 women graduated from the school, all of whom had been denied admission to whites-only training schools.
  • Desmond additionally started her own line of beauty products called Vi’s Beauty Products, which she marketed and sold by herself.

ARREST AT ROSELAND THEATRE

  • On Gottingen Street, Viola Desmond united with her husband Jack Desmond in a combined barbershop and hairdressing salon.
  • On November 8, 1946, while traveling to Sydney on business to sell her beauty products, Viola Desmond’s car broke down in New Glasgow.
  • She was told that the repair would take a day before the parts were fixed and became available. To pass the time while waiting, she decided to see a movie entitled “The Dark Mirror” starring Olivia de Havilland at the Roseland Film Theater.
  • At the Roseland Theatre, Desmond asked for a ticket for the main floor. However, the ticket seller gave Desmond a balcony ticket instead, the seating usually reserved for nonwhite customers.
  • There were no legal laws enforcing segregation in movie theaters in New Glasgow, and the theater had no indication telling its clients about the policy.
  • As Desmond was walking into the main floor seating area, she was told by the ticket taker that her ticket was for an upstairs seat, where she would have to move.
  • Thinking that a mistake had been made, Desmond turned back to the cashier and asked her to exchange the ticket for a downstairs one. The ticket seller refused, saying, “I’m sorry, but I’m not permitted to sell downstairs tickets to you people.” Realizing that the cashier was pointing to the color of her skin, Desmond chose to take a seat on the main floor.
  • Desmond was forcefully removed from the theater which injured her hip. She was also arrested and spent half-day hours in jail and had to pay a $20 fine. She was charged with tax evasion for failing to pay the full tax on a main‐floor movie ticket – a difference that only amounted to 1 cent. She spent her overnight in jail and was never told about her right to legal advice, a lawyer, or bail.
  • Upon returning to Halifax, her husband’s advice was to let it go as she discussed the matter. However, several people from their church and family encouraged her to take action, so she decided to fight the charge in court.

LATER LIFE

  • Her appeal to her conviction was eventually brought before the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
  • However, she ultimately lost her appeal.
  • Her stand against injustice galvanized Nova Scotia’s black community and helped inspire the civil rights movement in Canada.
  • Unfortunately, Desmond’s personal cost was high. Her marriage fell apart and she abandoned her business in Nova Scotia, moving to Montréal.
  • She died in 1965 in New York City and was buried at Camp Hill Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

A CANADIAN CIVIL RIGHT LEGACY

  • In 2010, the justness of Desmond’s cause was formally acknowledged when the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia posthumously pardoned her, removing her conviction from the historical record.
  • The story of Desmond, long unknown to most Canadians, is now becoming more familiar.
  • In 2018, she became the first Canadian woman to appear on a regularly circulating Canadian $10 bill.
  • Desmond was portrayed on a Canadian postage stamp.
  • Desmond was featured in a Heritage Minute and there is even a ferryboat in Halifax, Nova Scotia named in her honour.
  • Wanda Robson, Desmond’s sister, was inspired by her sister and now speaks to youth about Desmond’s story and combating racism.

Viola Desmond Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Viola Desmond across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Viola Desmond worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Viola Desmond, in full Viola Irene Desmond, who was a successful black businesswoman. Desmond was jailed, convicted, and fined for defiantly refusing to leave a whites-only seat of a movie theatre in 1946. Desmond’s court case was an inspiration for the pursuit of racial equality in Canada.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Viola Desmond Facts
  • All About Viola
  • Desmond’s Story
  • Unofficial Laws
  • False Alarm
  • At Roseland Theater
  • Guilty Just For a Cent
  • Later Life
  • Woman Resistance
  • Illustration
  • A Letter to Viola

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Use With Any Curriculum

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