Reviewed Aisha Kiani
Review Source: I Dream Library
Book Author: Rachel Kehoe
The story of Viola Desmond’s act of resistance against segregation in a Nova Scotia theater is one we’ve been teaching and including in lesson plans and book lists since we began our work with teachers in 2019. The book we’ve used is a kidlit picture book called Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged!, published in 2010, written by author Jody Nyasha Warner. Jody is Black and from the Canadian city of Hamilton in Ontario. Hamilton’s Black community dates back to the early 1800’s. This is significant for a country that is only 156 years old.
The Trailblazing Life of Viola Desmond is written by a white woman named Rachel Kehoe who first learned of Viola Desmond from seeing her face on the Canadian $10 bill. She developed a relationship with Viola’s sister, Wanda Robson, her family, and professor / writer Graham Reynolds to create this chapter book. Because this is a well known Black historical figure in Canada, the responsibility Rachel has in her choice to tell this story is great. I read her author interview and it prompted me to ask more questions, such as: With a book featuring Viola’s dedication to Black women’s economic equity, and considering the history of Black femme inequity in the literary space, why did this white woman feel it was appropriate for her to write Viola’s story? Information on Rachel’s relationship to Black community or Black activism prior to writing this book is not readily available.
I like that throughout the book, context is given to connect readers to some events in Nova Scotia, Viola’s family history, personality, historical figures within U.S. and Black history, as well as segregation and how Black women, men, children and families survived and created legacy in both the U.S. and Canada in spite of it. I like that this book provides a timeline of Viola’s life and legacy at the back. I like that this book acknowledges Viola’s character as a lifelong advocate for racial justice through Wanda’s stories in the sections titled “Notes from Wanda.”
However, the white lens that this story is written through is undeniable. And so, I would not recommend this book on its own, or without a teaching guide / accompanying books to give further context to some of the story’s statements and to challenge the white feminist lens through which Viola’s story is told. For middle grade students, the Canadian white narrative of anti-Black racism often defaults to: celebrating Canada’s role in the Underground Railroad, erasure of the practice of chattel slavery in the colonies that became Canada, the history of the Black Loyalists, gaslighting Black experiences, text that considers the feelings of white readers primarily, comparisons to the U.S. meant to relieve Canadian accountability, and the approach of law was made = racism resolved. The author’s telling of Viola and her family’s story is informed by this lens.
There are places in this book where context is critical, and neglected. Whether these considerations never occurred to the author, or were redacted in the editing process, needs further exploration. In the early part of this book, Viola’s refusal to move for white people in a Nova Scotia movie theater is compared to Rosa Parks’ refusal to get up from her seat on a Montgomery bus. The author’s positioning of Viola as challenging segregation earlier than Rosa feels nationally competitive. Uniting the two women with the line, “Just like Viola, Rosa was not trying to start a movement,” erases Rosa’s intellect, lived experience as an activist, and intentionality in her decision. As the story moves on to Viola’s changemaking spirit taking inspiration from Madame C.J. Walker, the role of systemic anti-Black racism is not acknowledged in the author’s description of Black women’s hair care. The author speaks of “braids, twists, and dreadlocks” as a “growing trend.” The book’s last chapter rushes to neatly tie up the story of anti-Black racism in Nova Scotia and celebrates Viola’s part in the achievement. The closing announces provincial and federal laws brought into effect from 1959 – 1977 with text such as, “It was now law that Black people receive the same rights as white people” and “Black people now had equal rights at work, when buying a home, and received equal pay.” These closing statements are simplistic and untrue. Africville, a longstanding Black community north of Halifax, Nova Scotia, was leveled and its residents displaced without care or compensation during this same period (early 1960’s – 1970). Just as in the US, historically Black and Indigenous communities in Nova Scotia are often sites for toxic industry, under-resourced, and remain heavily policed. Why is this not acknowledged?
At the back of Jody’s book, Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged!, there is a full page with small print titled “A Glimpse of African Canadian History.” It acknowledges the history of chattel slavery in Canada, Black Loyalists, historically Black communities in Nova Scotia, and their connections to the U.S., Jamaica, and Sierra Leone. I believe the page acknowledges ongoing anti-Black racism because, as a Black woman telling a Black woman’s story, it’s in Jody’s interest and understanding to contextualize Viola’s actions within 400+ years of Canadian Black history and future. In a country whose laws claim racial equality, while in practice ongoing anti-Black racism upholds white privilege, it’s not in Rachel’s interest to do the same.
Aisha Kiani is founder and executive director of I Dream Library.
I Dream Library connects students, caregivers, educators and organizations with intersectionally diverse literary selections, anti-racism / DEI training and teaching resources. Through partnership and an interdisciplinary approach to storytelling, we further the goal of abundant 2S/LGBTQQIA+ BIPOC representation in classrooms and libraries around the world.
The Trailblazing Life of Viola Desmond by Rachel Kehoe
Published by Orca Book Publishers on September 12, 2023
Genres: Black History
Pages: 96
Reading Level: Grade K, Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5
ISBN: 9781459833999
Review Source: I Dream Library
Publisher's Synopsis: Years before Rosa Parks famously refused to give up a bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, Viola Desmond took a similar stand against racial segregation in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
On November 8, 1946, she was arrested for refusing to move from the "whites-only" section of a movie theater. Her heroic act inspired Black community leaders and made her a symbol of courage in the fight against inequality. This story of Viola's life is based on rare interviews with her sister Wanda Robson, who spent her life championing her sister's story and was successful in getting Viola a posthumous pardon that recognized she was innocent of any crime. From their childhood in Nova Scotia to Viola's career as a teacher in a segregated school and, later, her role as a pioneer in Black beauty culture, young readers are introduced to the girl and the woman who went on to become the face of the civil-rights movement in Canada.
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