Born Viola Irene Davis on July 5, 1914, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She was brought up in a large family with 10 siblings. Her parents were highly regarded in Halifax's black community; her father, James Albert Davis was a barber & her mother Gwendolin Irene Davis (nee Johnson) was the daughter of a white minister & his wife, who had emigrated from New Haven, Connecticut. Although racial mixing wasn't uncommon in 20th century Halifax, intermarriage was rare. Nonetheless, her parents were accepted into the black community & became part of several community organizations.
Inspired by her parent's hard work & community involvement, Viola aspired to become an independent businessman. After a short time teaching at two racially-segregated schools, Viola began a study program at the, Field Beauty Culture School in Montreal; one of few such institutions in Canada at the time, to accept black students. She furthered her studies in Atlantic City & New York.
After graduating, Viola opened, Vi's Studio of Beauty Culture, catering to the black community of Halifax. In the early part of the 20th century, with the dawn of new hairstyles that required specific product & maintenance with emphasis on fashion trends & personal grooming, beauty parlors offered unique opportunities for for businesswomen like Viola. Beauty parlors also became centers in the black community, giving the owners a certain reputation & status in society. Her husband, Jack Desmond, ran a barbershop that ran out of the same complex as Viola's beauty salon.
Viola achieved almost overnight success in the beauty community & eventually opened a beauty school called, the Desmond School of Beauty Culture, in order to train women & expand her business in Nova Scotia. Viola also created her own line of products that were sold at venues owned by graduates of her beauty school. Aware of her obligation to her community, Viola opened the school to train young black women and increase their chances of employment. More & more enrolled each year including students from New Brunswick & Quebec. Up to 15 students graduated from her school a year.
Although racism wasn't officially a part of Canadian society, as it was in the US, black people in Canada felt as if there were these "invisible constraints" that controlled their lives, making it very difficult to navigate through society. In some ways more so in a more blatantly racist environment.
On November 8, 1946, Viola's car broke down as she was driving through the small neighborhood of New Glasgow, as she was on the way to a business meeting in Sydney, Nova Scotia. When she was told the repair would take several hours to complete, she booked a hotel room & decided to go to the movies to pass the time. At the Roseland Theater, Viola requested a ticket for a seat on the main floor, the ticket seller handed her a balcony ticket instead; the seating typically reserved for non-white patrons. Upon realizing this, Viola tried to exchange her ticket but was turned down. It didn't take long for Viola to realize that she was being denied a main-floor ticket because of the color of her skin, so she decided to take a seat on the main floor anyway.
She was soon confronted by the theater manager, Henry MacNeil, who said the theater "had a right to refuse admission to any objectionable person", Viola counteracted by pointing out she hadn't been denied admission & been sold a ticket. She also stated how she had tried to exchange her ticket & was willing to pay the difference in price but had been turned down. When she refused to leave her seat, the police were called. Viola was manually dragged out of the theater, injuring her hip & knee in the process & taken to jail. She was held in a cell overnight.
In the morning, she was brought to court and charged with attempting to defraud the provincial government, despite the fact she had offered to pay the difference in the ticket prices. The judge chose to fine her $26, 6 of which went to the director of the theatre manager, who acted as prosecutor in the trial. Throughout her trail, Viola received no legal representation & wasn't informed she had a right to any. Magistrate Roderick MacKay, was the only legal court official present. Though her race wasn't mentioned even once in Viola's trial, it was obvious her real transgression was that she'd violated the unspoken rule of sitting in the balcony seats with other people of color.
Viola's husband had grown up in New Glasgow & wasn't surprised when she told of him about her reception at the Roseland Theater, though he offered his wife very little comfort. However, not everyone remained temperate about Viola's plight, the NSAACP (Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Colored People) raised money to fight her conviction & Carrie Best, the founder of, The Clarion, one of the 1st black-owned newspapers in Nova Scotia, took a special interest in her case. Viola hired a lawyer, to try to reverse her charge. Unfortunately, due to the fact the legal nature of racial discrimination had yet to be settled in Canada, unraveling the charges against Viola would be a major hurdle. Due to this ambiguity, Viola's white lawyer, Frederick Bissett, opted to make Viola's case a civil suit, establishing that MacNeil had acted unlawfully when he forced her from the theater, thus entitling her to financial compensation on the grounds of assault, prosecution & false imprisonment; rather than taking on the violations of Viola's legal rights.
Unfortunately, Viola's suit never made it to court & Bissett later petitioned the Supreme Court, to have the criminal conviction forgiven. After the Supreme Court's decision, all legal action on Viola's case stopped. On the positive side, Bissett didn't charge his client, which left the NSAACP, to use the money to continue their fight against segregation in Nova Scotia. Change came slowly, segregation was finally made illegal in 1954, thanks to the brave actions of Viola and other brave souls.
After her trying experience with the Nova Scotian legal system, her marriage fell apart. Viola abandoned her business and moved to Montreal, than New York. She died on February 7, 1965, in New York. Decades after her death, Viola's story gained more public attention, largely thanks to her sister, Wanda Robson. Wanda published a book about her sister's experience called, Sister to Courage (2010). On April 15, 2010, Viola was granted a free pardon by Lieutenant-Governor, Mayann Francis. In 2012, Canada Post issued a stamp, bearing her image. On December 8, 2016, it was announced Viola would be the new face of the Canadian $10 banknote, she was the first Canadian woman to appear on a Canadian banknote. In 2017, Viola was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame, under the Philanthropy & Humanities category.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/viola-desmond
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