We honour Viola Desmond's 76th Anniversary Against Racial Segregation by keeping her legacy ALIVE ✊🏾

Viola Irene Desmond wasn’t out to make history when she decided to watch a movie at the Roseland Theatre on Nov. 8th, 1946. She was there to kill time, while mechanics worked to fix her 1940 Dodge sedan.

Viola, requested a single ticket for the 7pm showing of The Dark Mirror. The cashier ignored her request and handed Viola some coins and an “upstairs ticket.”

Ignoring the unwritten rules in the segregated movie theatre, Viola took a seat on the main floor. After refusing to relocate, she was dragged to the theatre lobby, put into a taxi and taken to jail for the night.

She was convicted of a minor tax violation for the one-cent tax difference between the seat that she had paid for and the seat that she sat in, which was more expensive. Viola's case is one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history and helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada.

In 2010, on behalf of the Nova Scotia government, Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis issued a posthumous “Free Pardon”, to Viola’s family with an official apology and acknowledgement of the miscarriage of justice.

Let this be our reminder to always stand for what is right and to lead by being the change that we want to see ✊🏾