"What happened to my sister is part of our history, and needs to remain intact. We must learn from our history so we do not repeat it. If my parents were here today, it would warm their hearts to see Viola recognized as a true Canadian hero," said Wanda Robson, sister of Viola Desmond.

There have been many black Canadians who have contributed to defining Canada's diverse heritage over the years, and they each have their own unique stories. However, I am going to focus on one particularly brave woman, Viola Desmond, and her contributions to Canada.

Viola Desmond was a successful business woman who lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She had to attend beauty school in Montreal due to her African descent; she was not allowed to study in Halifax. When she returned, Desmond opened her own salon, and created her own line of beauty products. On top of that, Desmond opened her own beauty school, The Desmond School of Beauty Culture, which provided training to black women so they would not have to travel, as she had, to become a beautician.

Although starting a school to allow black women the opportunity to work as beauticians and own their own salons was a great achievement, and added to Nova Scotia's heritage as it was the first beauty school in the province to provide training to the black population, this was not Viola Desmond's greatest contribution. In 1946, Desmond's car broke down in New Glasgow while she was on a business trip. Being told she would have to wait a while for it to be repaired, she went to see a movie at the Roseland Film Theatre to help pass the time. Desmond asked to purchase a ticket for a seat on the main floor of the theatre; however, the ticket seller gave her a ticket for the balcony because the main floor was reserved for white customers. Being stopped by the ticket-taker when she entered the main floor seating area, Desmond believed there was a mistake and returned to the ticket seller to request that her ticket be exchanged so she could sit on the main floor, and she was willing to pay the difference. After being told that she was not allowed to sit on the main floor because she was black, Desmond decided that she was going to sit there anyway. Desmond, confronted by the theatre manager, refused to leave her seat and was removed by force, taken to jail and held overnight.

In the morning, Desmond was taken to court and charged because she did not pay the difference between the balcony ticket price and the main floor ticket price, not because she was sitting in the white section of the theatre. Desmond was fined a total of $26 and returned to Halifax, where she then decided to fight the charge. Desmond received support from people in her community. Carrie Best covered her story. Unfortunately, Viola Desmond did not manage to change the court's view.

It was in 2010 that Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis granted Viola Desmond a free pardon, and an apology to Desmond and her family came from the Premier of Nova Scotia, Darrell Dexter. Today, Viola Desmond is recognized as an important figure in the civil rights movement in Canada. I believe that Viola Desmond's actions were very important in getting rights for black Canadians. Change will not come if there is no action, but Desmond took action. She stood up for what she believed was right, and although change did not happen in her lifetime, people did look up to her for standing up against racism. Through time, people saw that Desmond was right, and this has helped Canada grow into the culturally diverse country that it is today.

"This is a historic day for the province of Nova Scotia and a chance for us to finally right the wrong done to Mrs. Desmond and her family. This is also an opportunity for us to acknowledge the incredibly brave actions of a woman who took a stand against racism and segregation," Premier Darrell Dexter of Nova Scotia.