Some members of New Glasgow's Black community upset with state of Viola's Way

Some members of New Glasgow's Black community are upset with the state of a street named to honour Viola Desmond. Nearly half the street, if not more, is covered by a restaurant patio and has been for the last two years since the pandemic hit.

Restaurant patio has blocked off most of the street for 2 years

Anam Khan · CBC News · Posted: Sep 13, 2022 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: September 13, 2022

A roadway with outdoor patios — Much of Viola's Way is covered by a restaurant patio. (Rob Short/CBC)

Some members of New Glasgow's Black community are upset with the state of a street named to honour Viola Desmond.

Nearly half the street, if not more, is covered by a restaurant patio, and it's been that way for the past two years.

A portion of the street beside the old Roseland Theatre was renamed Viola's Way five years ago.

The street, approximately 50 metres in length, has been closed to cars since the patio was installed. There are benches and garbage bins in the middle of the street.

Some say a permanent patio should never have been allowed.

A Black woman doing hair in a salon — Angela Cromwell, a hairdresser in New Glasgow, says Viola Desmond played a huge role in her life and career. (Robert Short/CBC)

"There are literally people looking down on you if the patio is full," said Angela Cromwell, a hairdresser in New Glasgow who says she owes her success to Desmond, who was also a hairdresser. "It's not a very satisfying feeling about the space that was given to us.

"I believe that that is not the reason that Viola stood her ground."

Part of New Glasgow street named after Viola Desmond

Desmond, a civil rights icon in Canada, was arrested in 1946 while watching a movie on the floor level of the theatre. The theatre was segregated with floor seating for white people only. Black people were relegated to the balcony.

Cromwell says the street went to the highest bidder and it wasn't the Black community. But she said the owner of the restaurant is not to blame.

"He has no idea," said Cromwell. "He really doesn't. But I think the town needs to be more responsible for how that worked and that's when you get to 'it's all about who you know.'"

No formal request came to the town

New Glasgow Mayor Nancy Dicks said there was never a formal request for Viola's Way to be used as a sacred space for the Black community to congregate and host events, as some have suggested.

Dicks said the vision for the street is that it becomes a place where the community can share Desmond's story. She said the town is working with the province on that vision.

She said the road is not permanently closed. The street is closed for cars but it is open for pedestrians.

A white woman with a blonde bob is seen wearing pink lipstick and and sleeveless aquamarine blouse. — Mayor Nancy Dicks says New Glasgow is open to feedback on the street and wants to hear from the Black community. (Robert Short/CBC)

"There's going to be a much greater conversation around what that space can and will look like in the future. And we're not at that point," said Dicks.

"Now we're in the very beginning stages of gathering information from people throughout our community."

Local reactions

Luke Macleod of New Glasgow didn't even know he was walking on Viola's Way when CBC approached him recently.

"I walk down here because I thought it was just a little side street," he said. "Learning that it was Viola's Way blew my mind."

He said there's a big bouquet of flowers covering the street name.

A street sign hidden by a banner and a plant basket — A hanging banner and flowers on the street post hide the street name of Viola's Way. (Robert Short/CBC)

"You don't really see anything on the street except for this building, which has nothing to do with this street whatsoever."

The artwork on the side of the street is an initiative of MacGillivray Law. The company bought the former theatre in 2016 and has since used it as a retail space.

A large alleyway between two buildings — MacGillivray Law held a contest calling artists across Canada to submit art inspired by Viola Desmond after it purchased the building. (Rob Short/CBC)

Painted murals on a brick wall — Eighteen pieces of artwork and a fabricated film reel tell the story of Viola Desmond along with the history of the Roseland Theatre. (Robert Short/CBC)

While walking on the street, history major Becca Field said she expected more to be done to commemorate the woman who became the face of Canada's $10 bill in 2018.

"It is surprising," she said. "You would feel it would be more memorialized instead of having a couple of benches and half the street blocked off by a patio. This isn't enough."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.