Viola's story at 18:00 minutes into the documentary.
This documentary, Journey to Justice by Roger McTair is a must watch that proves that Viola Desmond was not alone on her journey to fight racism in court.
Wednesday 10 December 2014
Thursday 4 December 2014
Viola's Next Steps
Viola’s business plans did not
continue as planned. Viola did not go through with setting up a franchise for
her beautician supplies throughout Canada. She had a new plan, “She began to
invest her money in real estate, believing that this represented greater
security in a racially torn society. She bought up homes, renovated them, and
rented them out to Black families” (Backhouse 1999, 270). Eventually Viola
moved to Montreal where she wanted to pursue another dream of becoming a
consultant for the entertainment industry. She then continued to expand her
dream and moved to New York City. Shortly after Viola moved to New York she
became very sick and died of a gastro-intestinal hemorrhage in 1965. Viola died
at age 51 and never fully lived out her dreams. Although she did not live to
see her dreams come true she has made a legacy and has had huge impact on Nova
Scotia and the rest of Canada.
Viola’s “lawsuit was framed in
such a manner that the real issues of white racism were shrouded in procedural
technicalities. The judges turned their back son Black claims for racial
equality, in certain respects openly condoning racial segregation” (Backhouse
1999, 270-271).
“The legal challenge touched a
nerve within the Black community, creating a dramatic upsurge in race
consciousness” (Bachbouse 1999, 271).
“Neither before or since has
there been such an aggressive effort to obtain rights. The people arose as one
and with one voice. This positive stand enhanced the prestige of the Negro community
throughout the Province” (Backhouse 1999, 271).
Racism in Nova Scotia has not
subsided since. People may not disregard a black person from eating at a restaurant
but hostilities are still taking place, racial slurs are still a huge part of
our vocabulary and many white people see nothing wrong with it. Our racial knowledge
stems from a way in which we were taught, raised and grown in certain societies
and cultures. Is there a way this can be changed? Or will experiences like
Viola’s continue to happen? Will racism ever subside?
After the Trial.. The Humiliation
Viola’s sister tells
the people what Viola thought after she was in trial and charged for tax
evasion,
“The day she came back from the court, knowing she had lost
the case, she was very disappointed. A person like my sister never liked to
lose. A person like my sister, who was such a hard worker, had always been told
if you do hard work, you’re going to win. If you’re Black or Negro or whatever,
you’re going to work hard, get that scholarship and win. We forgot about our
colour and educated ourselves. She felt that she should have won the case, and
she was bitterly disappointed” (Backhouse 1999, 267).
The Clarion, the New
Glasgow newspaper run by Black citizens stated,
“The court did not hesitate to place the blame for the whole
sordid affair where it belonged. […] It is gratifying to know that such a shoddy
attempt to hide behind the law has been recognized as such by the highest Court
in our Province. We feel that owners and managers of places of amusement will
now realize that such practices are recognized by those in authority for what
they are, - cowardly devices to persecute innocent people because of their
outmoded racial biases” (Backhouse 1999, 268).
Both Viola’s sister and The Clarion see how the white courts
did not bring up the fact that Viola was a Black women, and denied to relate
any of her charges based on the colour of her skin. She was charged for
something no white individual would have done based on the fact that she is a
black woman and was not permitted to sit in the main floor seating of a movie
theatre.
Carrie Best also
replies to what took place in the court room and the response to the racism in
Nova Scotia,
“We do have many of the
privileges which are denied our southern brothers, but we often wonder if the
kind of segregation we receive here is not more cruel in the very subtlety of
its nature […]
True, we are not forced into
separate parts of public conveyances, nor are we forced to drink from separate faucets
or use separate washrooms, but we are often refused meals in restaurants and
beds in hotels, with no good reason.
Nowhere do we encounter signs
that read ‘No Coloured’ or the more diplomatic little paste boards which say ‘Select
Clientele’, but at times it might be better. At least much consequent embarrassment
might be save for all concerned” (Backhouse 1999, 269).
Viola was very disappointed,
humiliated and disgusted by the Canadian law and the white people who caused
this on to her. Viola became stuck and was unsure of how to move on….
Tuesday 2 December 2014
Response to Racism
Carrie M. Best a Black editor
of The Clarion, a well known Black newspaper that was part of the New Glasgow
community wrote a letter to the community of why we should stick up for the
Blacks and the incidents that take place in their community and within their
country,
 |
| Carrie Best |
“It is sometimes said that those who seek to serve are ‘looking
for trouble.’ There are some who think it better to follow the line of the
least resistance, no matter how great the injury. Looking for trouble? How much
better off the world would be if men of good will would look for trouble, find
it, and while it is merely a cub, drag it out into the open, before it becomes
the ferocious lion. Racial and Religious hatred is trouble of the gravest
kind. It is a vicious, smoldering and insidious kind of trouble, born of fear
and ignorance. It often lays dormant for years until some would be Hitler,
Bilbo or Rankin emerges to fan the flame into an uncontrollable catastrophe. It
is heartening to know how many trouble shooters have come to the aid of The
Clarion since the disgraceful Roseland incident. They are convinced, as are we,
that it is infinitely wiser to look for trouble than to have trouble looking
for them” (Backhouse 1999, 248).
People continue to ignore
race altogether allowing for racism to never end. People believe that they are
not racist if they ignore race completely. When a racial incident happens for example,
Viola’s incident at the theater, people merely take in what happened as racist
and continue with their lives by ignoring the racial discrimination that takes
place in our society. This Racial Liberalism continues to happen today in the
21st century. As we see today, the case with Michael Brown, a Black
man shot to death for no necessary reason. People put blame on radicalized
minorities to ensure that they are not a racist individual. As Mills states, “Just
as the white citizenry increasingly insist that the surest way of bringing
about a raceless society is to ignore race and that those (largely people of
colour) who still claim to see race are themselves the real racists”, proves
that people will go out of their way to make sure that there actions seem not
to be racist when actually they are brutally are. Racism has not yet diminished as we see brutal
deaths and public humiliation of black individuals who are left uncared for by the
white citizens of North America. Viola Desmond was a victim of direct racism
when she was dragged out of the Roseland Theater and humiliated by white
individuals.
Backhouse, Constance. 1999. Colour-Coded, A Legal History of
Racism in Canada, 1900-1950. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.
Does Your Social Class Matter?
“A certain level of economic
security furnished a base which enabled such individuals to consider taking
legal action against discriminatory treatment” (Backhouse 1999, 243).
“Viola Desmond’s elite
position within the province’s Black community was well established. She and
her husband Jack, where often help up as examples of prosperous Black
entrepreneurs, whose small-business ventures had triumphed over the
considerable economic barriers that stood in the way of Black business
initiatives” (Backhouse 1999, 243).
Even though Viola and her
husband were successful in their careers they were still denied access to a
many seating ticket in the New Glasgow theater. This discrimination has proved today that even though the Canadian government allows Black individuals to succeed in a career
that best fits their desire, discrimination and prejudicial acts continue to
happen. This discrimination has not stopped since. As we see what is happening
in the United States continuously. Innocent Black individuals are killed every
28 hours by some sort of law enforcement in the states. Racism is still a huge
issue and has not subsided. So, by having a successful career as a Black
individual it does not mean that discrimination and racism has ended, it has
merely a small break of sunshine within the massive storm.
“For those who believed that economic
striving would eventually ‘uplift’ the Black race, the response of the manager
of the Roseland Theater crushed all hope of eventually achieving an egalitarian
society” (Backhouse 1999, 243).
Backhouse, Constance. 1999. Colour-Coded, A Legal History of
Racism in Canada, 1900-1950. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.
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