Viola Desmond - by Graham Reynolds (Paperback)

About the Book

"For many Canadians, the first introduction to Viola Desmond will have been was seeing her portrait on the new $10 banknote. Those who are familiar with her life Others know that she was wrongfully arrested in 1946 for refusing to give up her seat in the racially segregated Roseland Theater in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Her singular act of courage was a catalyst in the struggle for racial equality, which ultimately resulted in the passage of human rights legislation that officially ended the practice of racial segregation in Nova Scotia. Today, Viola Desmond has become a national civil rights icon, and a symbol of courage in the face of injustice. She is considered by many as Canada'a Rosa Parks. Viola Desmond: Her Life and Times looks beyond the theatre incident is the first authoritative biography of this remarkable woman. It provides new research and insights into her life, and it details not only her act of courage in resisting the practice of racial segregation but also her extraordinary achievement as a pioneer African Canadian businesswomen. In spite of the widespread racial barriers that existed in Canada during most of the twentieth century, Viola Desmond succeeded in becoming the preeminent Black beauty culturist in Canada. In the late 1930s, she established the first Black beauty studio in Halifax and in the 1940s, she created her own line of beauty products, which she marketed throughout Atlantic Canada. During this same period, she established the Desmond School of Beauty Culture, the first of its kind in Canada."--

Book Synopsis

Many Canadians know that Viola Desmond is the first Black, non-royal woman to be featured on Canadian currency. But fewer know the details of Viola Desmond's life and legacy. In 1946, Desmond was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in a whites-only section of a movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Her singular act of courage was a catalyst in the struggle for racial equality that eventually ended segregation in Nova Scotia.
Authors Graham Reynolds and Wanda Robson (Viola's sister) look beyond the theatre incident and provide new insights into her life. They detail not only her act of courage in resisting the practice of racial segregation in Canada, but also her extraordinary achievement as a pioneer African Canadian businesswoman. In spite of the widespread racial barriers that existed in Canada during most of the twentieth century, Viola Desmond became the pre-eminent Black beauty culturist in Canada, establishing the first Black beauty studio in Halifax and the Desmond School of Beauty Culture. She also created her own line of beauty products.
Accessible, concise and timely, this book tells the incredible, important story of Viola Desmond, considered by many to be Canada's Rosa Parks.

Review Quotes

"Reynolds and Robson have forged a remarkable partnership to bring us a fascinating account of Viola Desmond's life. This wonderful book is filled with new information and insight, riveting reading about an extraordinary woman's contribution to Canada's history."--Constance Backhouse, Professor of Law, University of Ottawa

About the Author

Graham Reynolds is a professor emeritus and the Viola Desmond Chair in Social Justice at Cape Breton University.He is the author (with Wanda Robson) of Viola Desmond's Canada: A History of Blacks and Racial Segregation in the Promised Land, winner of the 2017 Robbie Robertson Atlantic Book Award for Non-Fiction.