LaSalle, June 19, 2017 - The new street located between boulevard Newman and rue Allard in LaSalle's Quartier Angrignon has been named after Viola Desmond. Montréal City Council adopted a resolution in this regard at its meeting on June 12, at the Borough's request, in order to increase the representation of females and visible minorities in Montréal's public space.
Mrs. Desmond is an icon in Canada's rights and freedoms movement. Naming a street after her helps highlight the contribution of an entrepreneur who fought against many prejudices in her efforts to set up her own company and serve as a mentor for other young, black women all over Canada. She is known for having refused to sit in the section of a movie theatre set aside for non-whites in 1946. As a result, she was arrested for having defied authority, was charged and convicted. Her trial helped raise public awareness of the reality of racial segregation.
"Naming a street after her in Montréal, where she lived, in order to pay tribute to this great Canadian, provides an opportunity to commemorate, through place names, a woman who sustainably and significantly influenced the history of the country, through her actions to advance rights and freedoms," pointed out Mayor Manon Barbe.
Moreover, the Bank of Canada chose Viola Desmond to illustrate a series of $10 bills, which will be issued at the end of 2018, making her the first Canadian female on a dollar bill in everyday circulation.
