This year sheâs graced the Google Doodle and the $10 banknote, but in the Nova Scotia town where her legacy began, Viola Desmondâs name now marks the street next to the site of her famous protest against racial segregation.
Renamed âViolaâs Way,â the street sign was unveiled in a ceremony that took place in New Glasgow, N.S. on July 6 â the 104th anniversary of Desmondâs birthday.
Desmond was arrested on Nov. 8, 1946 for refusing to move from the whites-only section of the Roseland Theatre.
She spent the night in jail, convicted for a minor tax violation for the one-cent price difference in tax between the seat she paid for, and the more expensive seat she used.
Often called Canadaâs Rosa Parks, Desmondâs arrest was one of the sparks of the modern civil rights movement in Canada.
Now, almost 72 years later, the street beside the theatre she was removed from has been renamed to honour her memory.
The name was the idea of Desmondâs sister, Wanda Robson.
âBack of my head, I think of Frank Sinatra, I did it my way,â Robson told CTV Atlantic. âI did it my way. Viola did it her way. So thatâs why I thought Violaâs Way would be just perfect.â
Robson worked with Angela Bowden of the townâs race relations committee, who chose the street next to the theatre as the location to honour Desmond.
âIâm hoping it will serve as a visual reminder when you walk past Violaâs Way, that with courage and strength and determination and fight that you can make change,â Bowden said.
The street in her name is the latest of several moves to honour Desmondâs contributions to challenge racial segregation laws in Canada.
The government of Nova Scotia pardoned her posthumously in 2010 â the first ever to be granted in Canada â and announced in 2016 that she would become the first Canadian woman to grace a banknote.
Although Robson wasnât able to attend the ceremony, she says that the honour would have made Viola âvery proud.â
âThis is sort of an atonement for what happened to her,â Robson said. âAll these years later, the town of New Glasgow are now saying âthis is in remembrance of you and what youâve done.â Itâs remarkableâ
With a report from CTV Atlanticâs Dan MacIntosh.