Viola Desmond to be on the $10 bill starting 2018

[thejazz97]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/women-on-banknotes-viola-desmond/article33264617/

 

Who’s the woman on Canada’s new $10 bill? A Viola Desmond primer

In 1946, Viola Desmond’s stand at a segregated Nova Scotia movie theatre made her into a civil-rights icon for black Canadians. On Thursday, the federal government announced that she’ll be the new face on the Canadian $10 bill in 2018. Here’s what you need to know about her

 

Self-made makeup maven

Viola Desmond was a cosmetics pioneer for black women in Atlantic Canada. Following in the footsteps of her father, a Halifax barber, Ms. Desmond started out in business at a time when few beauty schools would accept black students. After training in Montreal, Atlantic City and New York, she founded her own institution, Halifax’s Desmond School of Beauty Culture, selling her own line of hair and skin products across Nova Scotia. But on one business trip on Nov. 8, 1946, when her car broke down in New Glasgow, Ms. Desmond would become famous for another reason. 

 

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A night at the movies

The fateful movie she went to see was The Dark Mirror, a psychological thriller starring Olivia de Havilland. She was at the Roseland Theatre to kill time while a garage repaired her car, which wouldn’t be ready until the next day. But the Roseland was a segregated theatre; the floor seats were for whites only, while black patrons were confined to the balcony. Ms. Desmond, who was shortsighted and needed a better view, bought a balcony seat (which was one cent cheaper) but sat in the floor area – until theatre staff called the police and had her dragged out. She spent 12 hours in jail.

A nightclub that was once home to the Roseland Theatre is shown in downtown New Glasgow, N.S., on April 29, 2010.

PAUL DARROW FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL

 

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On trial for a single penny

She was charged and convicted of tax evasion – over a single penny. She did not have a lawyer at trial – she was never informed she was entitled to one. Arguing that Ms. Desmond had evaded the one-cent difference between the balcony and floor ticket prices, a judge fined her $26. Protests from Nova Scotia’s black community and an appeal to the Supreme Court proved fruitless, and Ms. Desmond died in 1965 without any acknowledgment of racial discrimination in her case. 

 

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‘She is now free’

In 2010, Nova Scotia gave her a free pardon – and the black lieutenant-governor signed it into law. “Here I am, 64 years later – a black woman giving freedom to another black woman,” Mayann Francis recalled in a 2014 profile about the pardon, which called Ms. Desmond’s case a miscarriage of justice and said she should never have been charged. “I believe she has to know that she is now free.”

Nova Scotia lieutenant-governor Mayann Francis signs the official pardon for Viola Desmond as her sister Wanda Robson, left, premier Darrell Dexter and Percy Paris, minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs, look on at a ceremony at the legislature in Halifax on April 15, 2010.

ANDREW VAUGHAN/THE CANADIAN PRESS

 

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Her minute of fame

Ms. Desmond was the first historical woman of colour to get her own Heritage Minute, which was played at the Thursday event where the banknote was announced. Actress Kandyse McClure portrayed her in the Heritage Minute, which had been released this past February for Black History Month. “I am honoured to give voice to a woman whose only crime was the expectation of being treated not as black or as a woman, but as a human being,” Ms. McClure wrote in an article for the Huffington Post at the time. Historica Canada has since produced another Heritage Minute focusing on a woman of colour, Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak.

 

[RUPERTKBD]

Positive move, IMO. Overdue.

 

***waits for Mustafa's rant about "gender equality" and "PC garbage"***

[JM_]

Good pick, but my 1st reaction to it was its going to confuse a lot of people out West who had no idea that this kind of thing went on out east. But maybe thats one of the reasons they picked her... 

[Mustapha]

43 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said:

Positive move, IMO. Overdue.

 

***waits for Mustafa's rant about "gender equality" and "PC garbage"***

 

Aww Rupert, it's nice to know you thought about me when you read this article, you old softy.

 

It is a bunch of 'equality PC garbage'. Macdonald was important to the formation of our country, and it's sad to see him shuffled away because 'OMG 2 many white ppl on da bills'

 

Kids don't learn about Canadian heritage in school, that's a bunch of racism, because the people who formed Confederation, invested in our national railway and negotiated the purchase of most of Canada's land mass just happened to be white.

 

The government could have picked many other more prominent women to meet their mandated diversity quota. Laura Secord, Emily Carr, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Nellie McClung...the list goes on and on.

 

Viola Desmond ticks more intersectional boxes because she had a different gender and melanin content, and as we know it's a person's skin colour and gender that matters, not contribution to Canada. The more boxes they tick off on the 'progressive stack' the better. 

 

I guess in the real world it doesn't make a difference. Changing the national anthem, images on cash, the theme with this government is making changes that only make a difference in optics, but no real substance.

 

Except of course for eroding our free speech rights will Bill c-16 and mandating carbon taxes to "reduce emissions" hahaha god we are all stupid to have voted these bozos in.

 

 

 

 

[thejazz97]

^ There's an easy solution to that. McDonald in for Borden on the 100.

[Ghostsof1915]

2 minutes ago, thejazz97 said:

^ There's an easy solution to that. McDonald in for Borden on the 100.

 

It's all about the McDonald's? 

[Mustapha]

58 minutes ago, thejazz97 said:

^ There's an easy solution to that. McDonald in for Borden on the 100.

 

How about we leave Macdonald where he is and instead of virtue signaling with empty gestures,they try working on one of the platform promises, like electoral reform or marijuana legalization. Tick tock, Justin.  

[JM_]

1 hour ago, Mustapha said:

 

Aww Rupert, it's nice to know you thought about me when you read this article, you old softy.

 

It is a bunch of 'equality PC garbage'. Macdonald was important to the formation of our country, and it's sad to see him shuffled away because 'OMG 2 many white ppl on da bills'

 

Kids don't learn about Canadian heritage in school, that's a bunch of racism, because the people who formed Confederation, invested in our national railway and negotiated the purchase of most of Canada's land mass just happened to be white.

 

The government could have picked many other more prominent women to meet their mandated diversity quota. Laura Secord, Emily Carr, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Nellie McClung...the list goes on and on.

 

Viola Desmond ticks more intersectional boxes because she had a different gender and melanin content, and as we know it's a person's skin colour and gender that matters, not contribution to Canada. The more boxes they tick off on the 'progressive stack' the better. 

 

I guess in the real world it doesn't make a difference. Changing the national anthem, images on cash, the theme with this government is making changes that only make a difference in optics, but no real substance.

 

Except of course for eroding our free speech rights will Bill c-16 and mandating carbon taxes to "reduce emissions" hahaha god we are all stupid to have voted these bozos in.

 

 

 

 

 

Its an opportunity to tell a story that many Canadians were unaware of. Why is that so annoying to you? 

 

 

 

[Jägermeister]

The only thing I look at on my money is the dollar amount.

I don't care whose face is on it, be it has John A. MacDonald, Viola Desmond or Tony the Tiger.

[JM_]

[tbone909]

Not at all surprised that it only took 4 comments for negativity to shine in this thread. Not surprised at all. 

[DonLever]

Why did they chose to remove John A. McDonald the first Prime Minister of Canada and not Wilfred Laurier,  McKenzie KIng or William Borden?  McDonald could be considered the founding father of Canada and the most important politician in Canadian history.  Could it be he is the only sole Conservative PM on Canadian money?  Laurier,  King, were Liberals.   Borden was also Liberal before switching to the Conservatives.

[Kragar]

2 hours ago, S'all Good Man said:

 

Its an opportunity to tell a story that many Canadians were unaware of. Why is that so annoying to you? 

Then tell the story.  I don't recall this being taught in school.

 

It is an interesting story, to be sure, but from what I have seen, she hardly measures up to Rosa Parks.  Maybe she did do more than what is being reported, but all it appears to be is that her event was inspirational to the movement.  Rosa was considerably more active for equal rights after her famous bus ride.

 

I don't see it being worthy of being put on currency, especially at the expense of Sir John A (good observation above, @DonLever).

[JM_]

51 minutes ago, Kragar said:

Then tell the story.  I don't recall this being taught in school.

 

It is an interesting story, to be sure, but from what I have seen, she hardly measures up to Rosa Parks.  Maybe she did do more than what is being reported, but all it appears to be is that her event was inspirational to the movement.  Rosa was considerably more active for equal rights after her famous bus ride.

 

I don't see it being worthy of being put on currency, especially at the expense of Sir John A (good observation above, @DonLever).

 

I think that's the point of putting her on the bill. Its a recognition of the times and symbolic of what a lot of folks had to go through. 

 

And Sir John doesn't really need more PR does he? 

[Lockhart]

Surprised Trudeau doesn't want to put his buddy Fidel on some money.

[Kragar]

14 minutes ago, S'all Good Man said:

 

I think that's the point of putting her on the bill. Its a recognition of the times and symbolic of what a lot of folks had to go through. 

 

And Sir John doesn't really need more PR does he? 

That may be Justin's point, but IMO, it's not the right way to go about it.  Add it to the curriculum if it is not there already (it's been a few decades since Socials classes for me, so maybe things had already changed), and commemorative stamps are another way to show respect.

 

Based on what she has done in her life, I don't think it measures up for that level of recognition, that's all.

 

And, say she is worthy... why remove Sir John?  He's got to be more deserving than some of the other PMs on bills.

[JM_]

1 minute ago, Kragar said:

 

And, say she is worthy... why remove Sir John?  

 

Why not remove him? The guy has his place cemented in our history no matter what does he not? How many platforms does he need? 

[JM_]

Maybe this represents the east better for some folks?

[Kragar]

5 minutes ago, S'all Good Man said:

 

Why not remove him? The guy has his place cemented in our history no matter what does he not? How many platforms does he need? 

Because he did more for the country, and is more deserving of respect.

[JM_]

6 minutes ago, Kragar said:

Because he did more for the country, and is more deserving of respect.

 

Oh I see. So whats the rationale for QE being on so much of our cash?

 

Sir John was no saint, and made a lot of mistakes and was occasionally outright racist and starved out first nations people on purpose for the railroad but yah he was the 1st PM. 

 

I find it really fascinating how people are reacting to this. Its a neat opportunity to tell a lesser known part of our history, but some people are acting like somethings being taken away.