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Halifax Transit’s newest ferry has a name, and it’s Viola Desmond.
Mayor Mike Savage made the announcement on Thursday afternoon at the Black Cultural Centre, drawing a standing ovation from those in attendance.
According to HRM, “Viola Desmond” received just under a third of the 19,230 votes cast in the two-week naming period for the new harbour ferry. She beat out fellow shortlisted names Vincent Coleman, John Curwin, Gavin Rainnie and Ronald Wallace.
Standing ovation when it is announced that the new @hfxtransit ferry will be named after. Viola Desmond pic.twitter.com/GofgZFZIph
— Remo Zaccagna (@RemoZaccagna) February 25, 2016
Born and raised in Halifax, Desmond is today most well-known for a 1946 trip to New Glasgow where she unknowingly sat in the white-only section of a movie theatre. Desmond was removed and held in jail overnight—a story that exposed some of the country’s more blatant racism and issues of segregation.
She’s since been commemorated in a stamp, a Heritage Day and a Heritage Minute. She’s often, problematically, called “Canada’s Rosa Parks” despite Desmond’s night in jail taking place nine years before Parks’ arrest. Of course, Rosa Parks wasn’t even the first Rosa Parks, but history likes to be streamlined like that.
“Viola Desmond” will now be submitted to Transport Canada for final approval. The new vessel will go into service this summer.
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This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 2, 2016.
Someone who actually did something for humanity should have been picked. Someone who gave their life, not a woman on her way to sell beauty products.
Besides inflammatory comments on websites, what have *you* done for humanity?
Sometimes decisions are made based on emotion and not strategy or logic. Laws and their interpretation experience the same thing – Nova Scotia’s failed cyber-bullying law is a prime example of a bad decision made based solely on emotion. The challenge is that we fail to see we are being pacified by these decisions.
Wow, a lot of negativity. Viola Desmond is an important part of Halifax history, nothing wrong with honouring her memory. They named a ferry after her, guys, it’s not like they renamed Dartmouth.
Ellis, I’m sure there are pinched, arrogant sanctimonious types who resent the fact that two of the ferries were named after members of the Canadian Armed Forces who died in Afghanistan. How is your attitude any different? IMO, I’m glad we are honouring ordinary people who tried to make a difference to the world. If Christopher Stannix and Craig Blake are important to my community, I have neither the right, nor the intention, of telling someone else, who should be important to theirs.