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Viola Desmond Wont Be Budged!

"Viola Desmond was one brave woman! Now come on here, listen in close and Ill tell you why." With this folksy voice, similar to the oral style of her African Canadian heritage, first-time author Jody Nyasha Warner welcomes readers to the little-known story of Viola Desmonds daring act of courage.

Desmond, a beauty salon owner living in Nova Scotia, developed car troubles on the road one wintery day in 1946. While her car was being repaired, she decided to pass the time watching a feature film in a movie theater in the town of New Glasgow. Trouble arose when she unknowingly took a seat on the main floor and not up in the balcony with the other black viewers. Asked to move, she refused, and in short order the police were summoned. She was arrested and spent the night in a jail cell. The following day she was found guilty and fined. Outraged at the injustice, Desmond refused to let the matter drop. She and the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Colored People fought her case all the way to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, where her appeal was turned down. The court was unwilling to acknowledge that racism was involved, insisting it was a simple case of tax evasion. Her struggles inspired others to continue to fight against segregation.

Desmonds story is simple yet powerful, and one that took place years before Rosa Parks made her stand against segregation. It certainly deserves to be told. I just wish this book did a better job. I found it frustratingly vague, especially since the experiences of blacks in Canada is something I know little about. For instance, the text states that Desmond "inspired all kinds of people to fight against segregation," but it doesnt tell how. And what finally happened to Desmond or even if she is alive is never told. (She died in 1965 after leaving Canada and moving to New York.) True, the afterword is informative and fills in some details, but not enough.

Richard Rudnicks acrylic illustrations, many of which were based on archival photographs, are striking, sometimes jarringly so. The expressions on certain faces--for instance, those of the policeman, manager, and usher--are contorted and at times frightening. His bold color palette I found overly vibrant and at times melodramatic. Overall the illustrations have the look and feel from cinemas film noir period.

Beginning readers should have no trouble tackling the straightforward text. The sentences are direct and the conversational, relaxed tone is engaging. As an introduction to a little-known but important black activist, this book deserves a space on library shelves.
    

Viola Desmond Wont Be Budged!
by Jody Nyasha Warner
illustrations by Richard Rudnicki
Groundwood/House of Anansi, 32 pages
Published: 2010


This weeks Nonfiction Monday is at Tales from the Rushmore Kid.