Wanda Robson, 90-year-old sister of Viola Desmond, speaks to Toronto kids
'It was one of the best experiences I've had,' Robson says
After the hugs and kisses from a crowd of adoring Toronto youngsters and their families, it was Wanda Robson, the sister of iconic Canadian civil rights activist Viola Desmond, who was choked up.
"It was one of the best experiences I've had," said the 90-year-old, who's an activist herself. "Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I got that feeling that everybody listened and got something from it," Robson said after speaking at Chartland Junior Public School Thursday.
"I'm so happy if they get something, because that's my mission,"
I really think our salvation is with the little ones- Wanda Robson, sister of Viola Desmond
Robson's sister Viola Desmond was an entrepreneur from Nova Scotia who is often referred to as "Canada's Rosa Parks."
In 1946, Desmond was jailed for refusing to leave the whites-only section of a movie theatre in New Glasgow.
Chartland JPS is Robson's latest stop on a short Toronto speaking tour to share her sister's story.
Robson was one of a handful of trailblazing Black Canadians who spoke at Historica Canada's Black History Month event Wednesday evening at the Royal Conservatory of Music on Bloor Street.
It was a serious speech about education but it was also peppered with witty jokes and one-liners — some of them about the Bachelor of Arts degree Robson received from Cape Breton University at the age of 76 in 2004. She pointed out her education was free because she was so old, but she said she doesn't recommend people wait that long.
She was also a special guest at the Viola Desmond Reception at Ryerson University Thursday afternoon to promote the university's Viola Desmond Awards and Bursary. This year's awards night will take place on campus on March 6.
In the morning, dozens of students packed Chartland JPS's gym to hear Robson. Student Breanna Beckles didn't know about her sister's story until she heard about it recently in school.
"I think it's really cool that she could come to our school; I really appreciate it," she said. "I think that it's really amazing that we're going to have a black person on our Canadian $10 bill."
Her grandmother Andrea Beckles also only recently learned the Canadian trailblazer's story.
Thursday she decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime school visit she couldn't miss.
"I just think it's so amazing, I'm enjoying every bit of it."
Toronto District School Board superintendent Jacqueline Spence, who is also black, said Robson's visit is critical, especially during Black History Month, because when she was a student she never learned about Desmond.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Spence said. "The opportunity to learn from her sister was incredible and part of Canadian history."
Robson said her best friend growing up in Halifax was a white girl and she could never understand why they couldn't play at each other's houses.
She says it's that innocence that she's trying to tap into in her speeches to children.
"I think it's up to the population who know, who understand, but I really think our salvation is with the little ones," Robson said.
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