Viola Desmond Heritage Minute moves icon's sister

The sister of Nova Scotia civil rights icon Viola Desmond is delighted with the portrayal of Desmond in a new Heritage Minute released to coincide with African Heritage Month.

Police dragged Desmond from a New Glasgow movie theatre in 1946 when she refused to leave the whites-only section. She was arrested and charged with failing to pay a theatre tax. She spent several hours in jail and was later fined $20.

Wanda Robson of North Sydney said Historica Canada, the maker of the well-loved Heritage Minutes, has captured both the facts of her sister's story and the spirit of Desmond herself.

"It's great," she told CBC Cape Breton Mainstreet host Wendy Bergfeldt, adding she loved the actress Kandyse McClure, who played Desmond. "Not only did she look the part, but she sounded the part. She was really good."

A father's pain

Robson said her mind was flooded with memories as she watched the 60-second vignette.

"When Viola came home and the next day, the bruises and marks come out on her arms and her legs, I remember the reaction of my father," she said. "That was his daughter. He was a man that, if anyone belittled or touched his daughters, not only was he angry, but I've said it many times, he would become livid."

Although Desmond's conviction was overthrown on a legal technicality, the Nova Scotia government posthumously pardoned her in 2010 and apologized to her family.

Robson said her sister's legacy is still growing.

"Every time I get a call concerning Viola." she said, "and something else is being done concerning her, concerning her bravery, it never ceases to amaze me because I know what she did, and as I get more and more phone calls, I realize the impact that was made, even after all these years. Especially after all these years. It's a historic event."