Notable Nova Scotians
NEWSLETTER
Notable Nova Scotians
Viola Desmond
African-Canadian business woman, civil rights activist.
(expert from: https://parks.canada.ca/culture/designation/personnage-person/viola-desmond)
In 1946, Halifax businesswoman Viola Desmond confronted the racism that African-Nova Scotians routinely faced when she refused to move from her seat in the “whites-only” section of the Roseland Theatre, formerly located here. For this, she was arrested, jailed overnight, and fined. Her unsuccessful appeal to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia attracted broad attention. It confirmed for African-Canadians that the law did not protect them and sparked their activism. Desmond’s resistance to racial discrimination was an important milestone in Canada’s human rights history and an inspiration for the civil rights movement in this country.
Sylvia D. Hamilton
Hamilton is a Nova Scotian and one of the most influential public historians working in Canada today, earning a reputation for
excellence over four decades of active history-making. A direct
descendent of the Black Refugees-Survivors of the War of 1812, Hamilton has made an indelible mark on Black history, while
enriching and reframing conceptions of Canadian history and its subjects. She has devoted her life’s work to uncovering stories of the struggles and accomplishments of African Canadians, and
introducing these to mainstream audiences by producing, writing and directing documentary films, giving public lectures, writing
essays and poetry, and creating multimedia art installations.
Her award-winning films include Black Mother Black
Daughter, Portia White: Think on Me and The Little Black School House. Her essays are foundational pieces of scholarship in this field and, along with her poetry, are widely used in schools and universities. She co-created New
Initiatives in Film, a program within the National Film Board’s Studio D, to provide filmmaking
opportunities for women of colour and Indigenous women filmmakers. Hamilton's recognitions
include the CBC Television Pioneer Award, honorary degrees, and 2019 Governor General’s
History Award for Popular Media.
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