Viola Desmond Biography

Viola Desmond was a Canadian citizen of mixed race, who championed the cause of equal rights for people with dark skin, in early 20th century. Her father was black and her mother was white, which was not very common in Canada in those days. Though Canada had no laws that segregated the black people from the white, it was a norm for the blacks to not mix with the whites. Her husband was black and worked as a barber. Viola wanted black women to have access to beauty salons and beauty products that were only available to white people at that time. She completed her beauty training and opened her own beauty salon that catered to the requirements of black people. She also launched her own beauty products and became an entrepreneur in her own right. She came into prominence as an activist when she refused to vacate a seat in a theater that was reserved for white people. Although she was charged with tax evasion, since she was sold a ticket for a cheaper seat reserved for black people, she gave rise to a movement of black people who fought for equal rights.