Racial Segregation in Canadian Legal History: Viola Desmond's Challenge, Nova Scotia, 1946

Abstract

This article recounts the arrest and trial of Viola Desmond, who in 1946 violated a rule imposing racial segregation on Blacks. It goes on to describe Desmond's unsuccessful attempt to have that conviction overturned in the Supreme Court of Nova scotia, the first known challenge brought by a Black woman in Canada against a racial segregation law. Through the use interviews and analysis of archival material, the author situates this legal proceeding within the context both of the history of racism in Canada and of legal attempts to combat it.

Keywords: Viola, Desmond, 1946, racial, racist, race, racism, segregation, discrimination, African, Black, Nova Scotia, Canada, conviction, Canadian, law, legal, history, biography, historical, biographical, policy, discriminatory, archive, Backhouse