Avenger of the Week | Viola Desmond

As the United States still waits for Harriet Tubman to make her appearance on the $20 bill, Canada has taken the lead by featuring civil rights activist Viola Desmond on their $10 bill. In what has been called “one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history”, Desmond was jailed, convicted of tax evasion, and fined for sitting in a seat in the whites-only section of a movie theater with a one cent tax difference than the one she paid for. By going to court to fight the charge, she helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada. She was granted the first ever posthumous pardon in Canada in 2010.

Once Tubman, the United State’s own civil rights activist, appears on currency, she’ll certainly have good company in Viola Desmond.

Canada features the civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond, and our #AvengerOfTheWeek, on the $10 bill. #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avenger-of-the-week-viola-desmond