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.