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Rights activist, Viola Desmond becomes the first Black person to feature on Canadian currency

By Sewe Ishola,

It’s looking like a good month for women, as Canada sets to feature Viola Desmond, a civil rights activist and first Black person on her $10 bill.

Desmond had refused to give up a seat meant for white people at the cinema, and was prosecuted for trying to defraud the provincial government of 1 cent.

She had lost the case and was convicted and fined 26 Canadian dollars, a move which “paved the way for a broader understanding of human rights across our country,” Bill Morneau, the finance minister said.

Desmond becomes the first black person, and the first woman other than a royal, to appear alone on a Canadian currency.

 

Photo credit: The Canadian Press

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