Viola Desmond

Viola Desmond (born July 6, 1914, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada—died February 7, 1965, New York, New York, U.S.) Canadian businesswoman and civil libertarian who built a career as a beautician and was a mentor to young Black women in Nova Scotia through her Desmond School of Beauty Culture. It is, however, the story of her courageous refusal to accept an act of racial discrimination that provided inspiration to a later generation of Black persons in Nova Scotia and in the rest of Canada.

Early life and family

She was brought up in a large family, including 10 siblings, and her parents were highly regarded within the Black community in Halifax. Her father, James Albert Davis, was raised in a middle-class Black family and had worked for a number of years as a stevedore before establishing himself as a barber. Her mother, Gwendolin Irene (née Johnson) Davis, was the daughter of a white minister and his wife who had moved to Halifax from New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. Although racial mixing was not uncommon in early 20th-century Halifax, intermarriage was a rare occurrence. Nonetheless, her parents were accepted into the Black community, where they became active and prominent members of various community organizations.

Motivated by her parents’ example of hard work and community involvement, Desmond aspired to success as an independent businesswoman. After a short period teaching in two racially segregated schools for Black students, she began a program of study at the Field Beauty Culture School in Montreal, one of the few such institutions in Canada at the time that accepted Black applicants. She continued her training in the U.S., in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in New York. Desmond opened Vi’s Studio of Beauty Culture in Halifax, catering to the Black community.

Entrepreneur and community leader

In the early part of the 20th century, with the advent of new hairstyles that demanded special products and maintenance and an emphasis on fashion trends and personal grooming, beauty parlours offered opportunities for female entrepreneurs. Black women, in particular, were able to discover opportunities not otherwise available. Beauty parlours became a centre of social contact within the Black community, allowing shop owners to achieve a position of status and authority.

Desmond quickly found success. She opened a beauty school, the Desmond School of Beauty Culture, and expanded her business across the province. (Desmond created a line of beauty products, which were sold at venues owned by graduates of her beauty school.) Aware of her obligation to her community, Desmond created the school in order to provide training that would support the growth of employment for young Black women. Enrollment in Desmond’s school grew rapidly, including students from New Brunswick and Quebec. As many as 15 students graduated from the program each year.

Although racism was not officially entrenched in Canadian society, Black persons in Canada—and certainly in Nova Scotia—were aware that an unwritten code constrained their lives. Sometimes the limits were difficult to foresee. In a way, the “unofficial” character of Canadian racism made it more difficult to navigate.

Roseland Theatre

On the evening of November 8, 1946, Desmond made an unplanned stop in the small community of New Glasgow after her car broke down en route to a business meeting in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Told that the repair would take a number of hours, she arranged for a hotel room and then decided to see a movie to pass the time. At the Roseland Theatre, Desmond requested a ticket for a seat on the main floor. The ticket seller handed Desmond a ticket to the balcony instead, the seating generally reserved for nonwhite customers. Walking into the main floor seating area, she was challenged by the ticket taker, who told her that her ticket was for an upstairs seat, where she would have to move. Thinking that a mistake had been made, Desmond returned to the cashier and asked her to exchange the ticket for a downstairs one. The cashier refused, saying, “I’m sorry, but I’m not permitted to sell downstairs tickets to you people.” Realizing that the cashier was referring to the colour of her skin, Desmond decided to take a seat on the main floor.

Desmond was then confronted by the manager, Henry MacNeil, who argued that the theatre had the right to “refuse admission to any objectionable person.” Desmond pointed out that she had not been refused admission and had in fact been sold a ticket, which she still held in her hand. She added that she had attempted to exchange it for a main floor ticket and was willing to pay the difference in cost but had been refused. When she declined to leave her seat, a police officer was called. Desmond was dragged out of the theatre, injuring her hip and knee in the process, and taken to jail. There she was met by Elmo Langille, chief of police, and MacNeil. The pair left together, returning an hour later with a warrant for Desmond’s arrest. She was then held in a cell overnight. Shocked and frightened, she maintained her composure and, as she related later, sat bolt upright all night long.