This image is taken from Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged!, text copyright © 2010 by Jody Nyasha Warner, illustrations copyright © 2010 by Richard Rudnicki. Reproduced with permission from Groundwood Books, Toronto. www.groundwoodbooks.com
You can buy Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! here.
Citation:
Warner, J.N. & Rudnicki, R. (Illustrator). (2010). Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! Toronto: Ontario, Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press.
To Use or Not to Use:
Definitely use.
I had a very difficult time looking for books that could be used during Black History Month that focused on distinctly Canadian people and events. This book about Viola Desmond, who is sometimes called ‘The Canadian Rosa Parks’ (even though her act of resistance happened years before Parks’) fit the bill perfectly. This book would work great during Black History month, but really can (and should) be read at anytime of the year. It tells an inspiring story of a brave woman who stood up to injustice and inspired others to do the same.
Themes:
Racism, injustice, civil rights, human rights, Black history, segregation, integration, justice, standing up for others.
Genre:
Non-Fiction
Type:
Picture book
Grade Range:
Grades 2-6
I have chosen this grade range based on reading level and subject material rather than curricular ties; I believe this is a story that should be told whether or not it clearly ties to prescribed curriculum.
Curricular Connections:
Big Ideas:
-Grade 5 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “Canada’s policies and treatment of minority peoples have negative and positive legacies.”
-Grade 6 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “Systems of government vary in their respect for human rights and freedoms.”
Content:
-Grade 2 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “rights and responsibilities of individuals regionally and globally”
-Grade 5 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “past discriminatory government policies and actions, such as the Head Tax, the Komagata Maru incident, residential schools, and internments”
-Grade 5 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “human rights and responses to discrimination in Canadian society”
-Grade 6 (SOCIAL STUDIES) “global poverty and inequality issues, including class structure and gender”
Core Competencies:
-(SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY) “I can initiate positive, sustainable change for others”
-(SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY) “I can take thoughtful actions to influence positive, sustainable change.”
–(SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY) “I take action to support diversity and defend human rights, and can identify how diversity is beneficial for my community”
-(POSITIVE PERSONAL & CULTURAL IDENTITY) “I can identify my potential as a leader in the communities I belong to.”
-(PERSONAL AWARENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY) “I take responsibility for making ethical decisions.”
-(PERSONAL AWARENESS AND RESPONSIBILITY) “I can advocate for myself in stressful situations”
Summary:
Viola Desmond owns a beauty parlor Nova Scotia. She is heading off to a business meeting when her car breaks down and leaves her stranded in New Glasgow. While she waits for her car to be fixed at the garage, Viola decides to watch a movie. and buys what she believes to be a floor ticket. Soon after she is seated, an usher taps her on the shoulder and tells her she needs to move to the balcony. Viola tells the usher she will pay for the upgrade. “No,” the usher tells her, “[y]ou people have to sit in the upstairs section” (13). Viola realizes that the theatre is segregated, and she knows that segregation is wrong. She tells she will not move to the balcony (as you reach this part of the story, several of your students will probably whisper excitedly – “She won’t be budged…..”).
The usher gets the manager, and the manager gets the police. They all try to get Viola to move to the balcony…but Viola won’t budge! The manager and the police officer drag her out of the theatre and send her to spend the night in jail. The next day, Viola is sent to court and charged with not paying for the right kind of ticket. The judge refuses to listen to her side of the story, and Viola is slapped with a fine.
When Viola returns to her home, she tells people what happened to her in the New Glasgow theatre. The people she talks to get very angry about the injustice Viola faced. With the help of Black community groups, Viola decides to appeal the judge’s charge. By 1947, the case reaches the provincial Supreme Court, where Viola insists the matter was an issue of race. The judges disagree, and they shoot down her appeal.
Despite her losses in the courtroom, Viola’s courage inspired people to fight for desegregation…and within four years of the incident in the theatre, it was made illegal.
The book ends with a historical note titled “A Glimpse of African Canadian History”.
Teaching Tips:
As mentioned above, this book would tie in beautifully with Black History month. It also provides students with a fantastic female role model.
Connections could easily be made between Viola Desmond and Rosa Parks (I followed it with a lesson that used Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney’s Boycott Blues).
Older students can look into movements and groups who were inspired by Desmond or investigate how the fight to end segregation in Nova Scotia unfolded.
You can buy Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! here.
Find my free lesson plan here.
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