Sister Wanda Robson picked up fight for justice more than 6 decades later
By Asha Tomlinson, CBC News
Wanda Robson becomes very emotional when she thinks about what her sister — Canadian civil rights icon Viola Desmond — would tell her if she were alive today.
“She was something else … I loved her.”
Robson, now 89 and living in North Sydney, N.S., has continued to keep her sister’s legacy alive by speaking to students, doing media interviews and writing books about her family’s experience after Desmond refused to leave the whites-only section of a theatre in New Glasgow, N.S., in November 1946.
Viola Desmond was a quiet revolutionary — a title also used to describe another civil rights icon in the United States, Rosa Parks. But Desmond’s act of defiance happened nine years before Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Ala.
In Desmond’s case, she just wanted to see a movie at the Roseland Theatre. Instead, the 32-year-old beautician and businesswoman, who had some time on her hands while her car was getting fixed, was thrown out of the theatre and straight into jail.
Ostensibly, she was removed because she failed to pay a one-cent tax, even though she offered to pay the difference.
There were segregation laws in place and black people could only sit in the balcony of the theatre. Desmond realized quickly she was being targeted because of the colour of her skin.
Robson vividly remembers that day in 1946 and how her sister described the ordeal.
“The usher came up and said, ‘Miss, you are sitting in the wrong seat, you can’t sit here, that seat is more expensive,’ so Viola said, ‘OK, I’ll go and pay the difference,'” Robson says.
“But when the usher came again and said, ‘I’m going to have to get a manager.’ Viola said, ‘Get the manager. I’m not doing anything wrong.’ ”
No escape
The manager dragged her out of the theatre and she was arrested. Badly bruised, she spent a night in jail and was released the next day after paying a $20 fine and $6 in court costs.
Desmond’s name was all over the newspapers. People were talking about it in New Glasgow and beyond. She couldn’t escape what happened. Neither could her family.
Some people supported her courage but others felt she should have accepted the segregation laws and sat in the black section of the theatre like everybody else.
Even Robson, who was 19 at the time, questioned her sister’s actions.
“People ask me: ‘What would you have done?’ Well, I would have been very angry but I would have gotten up with my head down … gone out and never come back,” says Robson.
Desmond was encouraged by community members, including her family doctor who treated her injuries, to hire legal counsel and appeal the charge in court. She also worked with the newly created Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People.
She lost that fight but her case led to the eventual abolishment of the segregation laws in the province in 1954.
The incident took a toll on Desmond over the years. She went through a divorce, shut down her business and moved to Montreal and New York City for a fresh start and new opportunities. In 1965, she died alone in the U.S. at the age of 50 from internal bleeding.
Picking up the crusade
Decades after her death, realizing how important it was to share her sister’s story, Robson picked up the crusade for justice.
“Every time I spoke about Viola, the full meaning of what she had done, her act, really hit me.”
In 2009, Robson wrote a letter to the mayor of New Glasgow and asked town council to pass a motion acknowledging the incident. That request went up the ranks to the premier’s office and in 2010, 63 years after her conviction, the province posthumously awarded Desmond an apology and pardon.
“I wrote to the mayor thinking that nothing would come of it,” Robson says. “Next thing you know … the injustice was brought forward and she was granted this pardon. So now it has come full circle, this whole act, my sister and the pride that goes with it.”
Mayann Francis, the first black lieutenant-governor in Nova Scotia,issued the free pardon.
“The free pardon is based on innocence. Viola Desmond was innocent. It was a very moving experience for me knowing that I was the one, a black woman, who was going to be giving Viola Desmond something she should have had a long time ago … her freedom,” says Francis.
“I remember my heart was beating away … there were so many cameras and I kept thinking: ‘This is for you, Viola.’ ”
Click here to read more on CBC.ca
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Great article.
There were segregation laws in place and black people could only sit in the balcony of the theatre. Desmond realized quickly she was being targeted because of the colour of her skin.
What an inspiring story about Viola Desmond’s courage and Crazy Cattle 3D her sister Wanda Robson’s dedication to keeping her legacy alive!
What an inspiring story about Viola Desmond’s courage and her sister Wanda Robson’s dedication to keeping her legacy alive!
“This is truly a powerful story. Viola Desmond’s courage paved the way for change, long before others named her in history. Thank you for keeping her legacy alive and inspiring future generations
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This story about Viola Desmond and her sister Wanda’s lifelong dedication is so powerful! I loved learning how Wanda carried on her sister’s legacy and how Viola’s quiet courage compares to Rosa Parks’. Thanks for sharing this inspiring history!
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This is a beautiful tribute to Viola Desmond! Learning about her sister Wanda’s dedication to keeping her legacy alive is so moving. The comparison to Rosa Parks is also really impactful, highlighting the shared struggle for equality.
The bravery of Viola Desmond still makes generations rise against injustice and inequality. Her legacy is a reminder that the actions of one individual can be used to initiate a significant change. Similarly to how music recording studio records the strong voices, her narrative reinforces the message of strength and equality among everyone.
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The bravery of Viola Desmond still makes generations rise against injustice and inequality. Her legacy is a reminder that the actions of one individual can be used to initiate a significant change. Similarly to how music recording studio records the strong voices, her narrative reinforces the message of strength and equality among everyone.
I admire Viola’s courage. When most people could have stayed silent to survive, she stood up for what was right. She is the ‘quiet revolutionary’ the article speaks of.
This article powerfully highlights Viola Desmond’s courage and her pivotal role in Canadian civil rights history. It’s a vital reminder of the ongoing fight for justice.
Your writing has a nice flow, and I didn’t feel lost at any point. It made me want to keep reading until the very end.
Viola’s story is a powerful reminder of how one person can spark change. People often overlook the importance of her actions; they were pivotal. It’s worth diving deeper into how her legacy continues, check this out for more Lyrics to Music.
Viola’s courage is inspiring. She stood up when most would’ve cowered. It’s a reminder that change starts with one person willing to fight. For those looking to express their own stories or thoughts, there’s a cool tool for turning lyrics into music at Lyrics to Music.
This story about Viola Desmond is a powerful reminder that the struggle for civil rights also has deep roots in Canada. In 1946 she refused to leave a whites-only section of a cinema in Nova Scotia and was arrested and fined over a one-cent tax difference, an incident that exposed the realities of racial discrimination and later became a symbol of the Canadian civil rights movement. Reading historical reflections like this really shows how individual acts of courage can influence social change, and sometimes after exploring meaningful stories like these I enjoy relaxing with creative activities such as browsing Planse de colorat on Planse-Colorat.com.
Desmond’s story is a powerful reminder that progress isn’t just about the major legal victories, but about the individual dignity of a woman who simply said, “I’m not doing anything wrong.” The fact that she was a successful businesswoman and beautician in the 1940s adds another layer to her legacy; she was a pioneer in both commerce and conscience.
What an inspiring story! Viola Desmond’s courage in standing up against racial segregation is truly remarkable. It’s important that we keep sharing these stories so future generations never forget. Her legacy on the Canadian $10 bill is a beautiful tribute. I enjoy learning about
historical documentaries that cover civil rights heroes like her. Thank you for this well-written piece!
What an inspiring story! Viola Desmond’s courage in standing up against racial segregation is truly remarkable. It’s important that we keep sharing these stories so future generations never forget. Her legacy on the Canadian $10 bill is a beautiful tribute. I enjoy learning about historical documentaries that cover civil rights heroes like her. Thank you for this well-written piece!
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What an incredible story about Viola Desmond and her sister Wanda. It’s amazing how history can inspire us. On a lighter note, for anyone into tech, I’ve been using Mini PC Specs Comparision to compare specs easily.
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If family memory keeps an injustice visible, the 2010 pardon shows how persistence can restore dignity. Robson’s tribute makes Desmond’s legacy personal.
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Honestly, Viola Desmond’s story is just as powerful as Rosa Parks’ – she stood up in 1946, nine years before Parks, and it took 63 years to get that pardon. Makes me wonder how many other quiet revolutionaries we’ve forgotten. Speaking of powerful visuals, I’ve been playing with minimax h3 image to video in the browser lately – upload one still, describe the motion, get a 768p MP4. It’s wild how tech like minimaxh3 can bring historical moments to life now. https://minimaxh3.lol/image-to-video
I just read about Viola Desmond sitting in that New Glasgow theatre back in 1946 – her courage really stands out. I’ve been watching some documentaries about civil rights lately and use a video to mp3 converter on my phone to extract audio from video clips for offline listening, which is super convenient. https://compressvideo.im/convert/video-to-mp3
I was really moved by Viola Desmond’s story – a 32-year-old woman arrested over a 1-cent tax difference just for sitting in the wrong theatre seat. It’s powerful how her courage, though she lost the case, eventually helped abolish segregation laws in Nova Scotia. If you’re sharing her photos online, you can compress image to 100kb easily with a free image compressor, just like I did when uploading them to our community page. https://imageto100.com/
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It’s wild that Viola Desmond’s fight in a 1946 New Glasgow theatre took decades to finally get justice – not even an online fps test runs faster than that. She wasn’t arrested for anything more than wanting to watch a movie, yet it took until 2010 for a pardon. Truly inspiring. https://fpstest.vip/
You know, I keep coming back to Viola Desmond’s story every Black History Month – she basically called out segregation back in 1946, nine years before Rosa Parks, and got arrested just for sitting in the wrong seat at a theatre. It’s wild how her sister Wanda kept fighting for justice decades later and finally got that pardon in 2010. I honestly wish there was an easy way to grab a YouTube profile picture from one of those documentary channels so I could save a HD avatar of icons like her – you know, like a youtube profile picture downloader where you just paste a link and it pulls the public image with no account needed. Makes sense to preserve these visuals for the next generation, kind of like how we’d download a youtube channel icon to remember who changed history. https://youtubethumb.com/youtube-profile-picture-downloader
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“Black History Month: Remembering Canadian civil rights icon Viola Desmond – Black History Month” was a great read, and the examples made the message feel very concrete. The fade haircut simulator angle was especially helpful for what I’m working on. It also connects nicely with Preview fade haircut ideas on your photo, including clean. I will revisit this post again. https://haircutsimulatorai.com/fade-haircut-simulator
Was just doing my usual online mic test when this story popped up – Viola Desmond’s 1946 stand still gives me chills. You can’t tell me $20 wasn’t about fairness when she was treated like a criminal for simply wanting to watch a movie in the wrong seat. https://mictest.vip/