Documentary Screening of Long Road to Justice: The Viola Desmond Story

Join us on Thursday, February 28 at 6:00 pm in Brian Mulroney Hall, room 101, for a screening of Long Road to Justice: The Viola Desmond Story, directed by Brian Murray.

The evening will include a screening of the documentary and a short presentation from a representative from the Bank of Canada on Viola Desmond's new $10 bill, which was introduced in 2018 to celebrate her life and impact. 

Viola Irene Desmond (née Davis), was a businesswoman and civil libertarian. She built a career and business as a beautician and was a mentor to young Black women in Nova Scotia through her Desmond School of Beauty Culture.

Her courageous refusal to accept an act of racial discrimination inspired mobilization for change among members of Nova Scotia’s Black population who were no longer willing to endure life as second-class citizens.

In 1954, segregation was legally ended in the province thanks in large part to the courageous determination of Desmond and others like her who fought to be treated as equal human beings.

In December 2016, it was announced that Desmond would be the first Canadian woman depicted on the face of a Canadian banknote — the $10 note in a series of bills, which were released in 2018.