Return From School & White Privilege

Viola moved back from the United States in 1937 with her diploma’s and her new techniques in hair styling. She opened a beauty parlor called, Vi’s Studio of Beauty Culture on Gottinngen street in Halifax. Her husband, John Gordon Desmond had his own barber shop right next to Viola’s on Gottinngen Street. Viola reached out to all female client, she took up many services including, shampooing, press and curl, hair-straightening, chignons, hairpieces and wigs. Viola specifically wanted to reach out to many Black women in the area because to find a hairdresser that has been trained to cut and style certain kinds of hair were a big struggle.

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh helps to acknowledge the ideas of white privilege and how it is a struggle to live in a society where such privilege happens to a race other than your own. Viola Desmond wanted to create a knapsack of her own to allow many Black women to feel privileged.

Examples of White Privilege in a knapsack (McIntosh 1989):

1.       I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed
2.       I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trail
3.       I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair
4.       I can be sure that I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me
5.       I can choose blemish color or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin

Viola’s teachings and abuse from white individuals caused her to become stronger, and more determined than ever to reach out to the black population of Halifax. “She branched out into chemistry and learned how to manufacture many specialized Black beauty powders and creams, which she marketed under the label ‘Vi’s Beauty Products’. She added facials and ultra-violet-ray hair treatments to her line of services” (Backhouse 1999, 240). Viola continued to update her expertise by traveling to New York every other year to gain more knowledge and learn about the latest style trends. The White Privilege angered Viola and she became determined to reach out to the non-privileged black women.

Backhouse, Constance. 1999. Colour-Coded, A Legal History of Racism in Canada, 1900-1950. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 

McIntosh, Peggy. 1989. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Peace and Freedom, 49.