Viola Desmond
Viola Davis Desmond was at the centre of one of Nova Scotia's most controversial episodes. In 1946, she refused to sit in the balcony of the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, N.S. and sat on the floor reserved exclusively for white people instead. She was arrested and found guilty of not paying the full tax on a floor-seat ticket. She was jailed and fined.
Desmond's story was one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Nova Scotian and Canadian history. On November 8, 1946, Viola Desmond refused to sit in the balcony designated exclusively for blacks in the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow but, instead, she took her seat on the ground floor where only white people were allowed to sit. After being forcibly removed from the theatre and arrested, Desmond was eventually found guilty of not paying the one-cent difference in tax on the balcony ticket from the main floor theatre ticket. She was fined $20 ($251.30 in 2010 and court costs ($6).
She paid the fine but decided to fight the charge in court. During subsequent trials the government insisted on arguing that this was a case of tax evasion.
Retail sales tax was calculated based on the price of the theatre ticket. Since the theatre would only agree to sell the Black woman a cheaper balcony ticket, but she had insisted upon sitting in the more expensive main floor seat, she was one cent short on tax.
For her crime of so-called tax evasion, she was removed from the theatre, thrown in jail overnight, tried without counsel, convicted and fined. During the trial, no one admitted that Viola Desmond was Black, and that the theatre maintained a racist seating policy.
The trial proceeded as if it related to race-neutral tax evasion. All efforts to have the conviction overturned at higher levels of court failed. Her lawyer returned her fee which she used to set up a fund that was eventually used to support activities of the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NSAACP).
After the trial, Desmond closed her business and then moved to Montreal where she could enroll in a business college.
She eventually settled in New York where she died on February 7, 1965 at the age of 50. In 2010, the government of Nova Scotia posthumously pardoned Desmond and apologized to her family.
In 2010, the government of Nova Scotia posthumously pardoned Desmond and apologized to her family.
Viola Desmond's Likeness is now adorned on the New Canadian $10 Bill.
Willie O’Ree
Fredericton-born Willie O'Ree was the first black player in the National Hockey Leagu. O'Ree made his debut with the Boston Bruins in the 1957-58 season. O'Ree later played in the Western Hockey League before retiring in 1979.
Most people know about Jackie Robinson and the historic role he played in integrating Major league Baseball.
But mention Willie O’Ree and you’ll likely receive a blank look.
That’s a shame because 60 years ago O’Ree did his own part bringing down a racial barrier in a different sport.
But mention Willie O’Ree and you’ll likely receive a blank look.
That’s a shame because 60 years ago O’Ree did his own part bringing down a racial barrier in a different sport.
On Jan. 18, 1958, O’Ree – a 22-year-old forward from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada – became the first black person to play in a National Hockey League game.
O’Ree wasn’t so well received at other NHL venues. At New York City’s venerable Madison Square Garden, for instance, fans showered him with racial insults before he even stepped onto the ice.
In Chicago, he was targeted for bruising Blackhawks forward Eric “Elbows” Nesterenko. After calling O’Ree the n-word, Nesterenko took the butt-end of his stick and rammed it into O’Ree’s unsuspecting face. A broken nose and two missing front teeth later, O’Ree had had enough. He took his stick and smashed Nesterenko over the head with it. O’Ree’s teammates came rushing to his aid as both teams’ benches emptied.
What followed was a classic hockey donnybrook (bench clearing brawl) that ended with O’Ree being sent to the Bruins locker room for medical treatment.
“Every time I went on the ice I was faced with racial slurs because of my color,” O'Ree admitted to the Anti-Defamation League Youth Congress gathering held in Boston in 2016.
“I had black cats thrown on the ice and [people] told me to [go] back to the cotton fields and pick cotton.” O’Ree claimed he didn’t mind. “I didn’t let it hurt me,” he said. “I let it go in one ear and out the other.”
“I had black cats thrown on the ice and [people] told me to [go] back to the cotton fields and pick cotton.” O’Ree claimed he didn’t mind. “I didn’t let it hurt me,” he said. “I let it go in one ear and out the other.”
The courage these proud Canadians faced were exemplary. Proud to be Canadian!!
Dave
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