Viola Desmond: Justice For All

 

Viola Desmond: Justice For All

To represent black unsung heroes, 8B student, Jasmine D, wrote a story about Black Canadian hero, Viola Desmond.




Viola Irene Desmond was a businesswoman, and a civil rights activist. She was born 6 July 1914 in Halifax, NS; died 7 February 1965 in New York. Viola Desmond had built a career and a business as a beautician and was also a mentor to young black women in Nova Scotia through her Desmond school of Beauty Culture. She faced numerous challenges of racism living in Nova Scotia and had always gotten treated differently. Viola one day had purchased a ticket for a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, but she had purchased the tickets that were for the “white-ones only” section because the “colored” section was sold out. At that time, many places in Canada, including Nova Scotia were segregated and there were laws in place enforcing racial separation. The owner of the cinema had noticed Viola sitting in the “white-ones only” area and was not happy. When the owner came over, he had a disapproving look on his face. His words were firm and stern, and was showing he would not back down and take no for an answer. From this action, she felt a sting of injustice. She stood her ground and had defended herself by saying that she had paid for the ticket. Her refusal and defiance had left the owner no choice but to call the police. Overnight, she was arrested and convicted without any legal representation for an obscure tax offence as a result. Despite all the efforts of the Black community in Nova Scotia, Viola was never able to have her conviction overturned or her name fully cleared during her lifetime. Desmond’s courageous refusal to accept an act of racism against her had sparked inspiration for later generations of all the black people in Nova Scotia and all across Canada. Her standing against racial injustice became a big powerful symbol of resilience, showing the strength to fight against all of the unfairness even when it was hard.

Jasmine D 
   






Comments

  1. Maxwell WApril 4, 2025 at 7:07 AM

    This was an amazing article on Viola Desmond. Throughout this piece of writing, it was well structured, information was very accurate, and it was very informative. I like how you used many transitional words in the correct places. This piece of writing has a very wide variety of vocabulary and keeps the reader on their toes. I liked how you incorporated the use of quotation marks, like when you included them while talking about the whites only area in the theatre. This story shows how racist and hard life was back then and Viola Desmond stood as a hero. It was extremely unfair when she paid for the ticket but still got kicked out because of the colour of her skin. This allowed me to learn something knew, however, I would like to add a few suggestions. For example, I would like you to include the use of bibliography using MLA 9 to be specific, as this helps the reader know where you gathered the information. Another tip I would like to give is that you should include small spaces and indent so that the reader can take a small time to let the information soak in. Overall, this was an amazing speech and I look forward to what you create next.

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