The Similarities Between Viola Desmond And Rosa Parks

Viola Desmond and Rosa Parks are very much alike for a number of reasons, however, they do have their differences. I will be comparing their stories, the result of their acts and how they influence/affected others. Both Rosa Parks & Viola Desmond had very inspiring stories, as they had done similar things and show great courage and determination.
Viola Desmond and Rosa Parks were two everyday people living through a time of racial segregation until both had decided to stand up for themselves. Viola Desmond wanted to see a movie at the cinema in (place) while waiting for her car to be repaired after it had broken down. As was well that night, she purchased a ticket and was ready to enjoy her movie, until a staff member notified her she was not

allowed to sit there because of her race. She immediately asked to speak with the manager, he came but he said the same thing. Viola refused to get out of her seat as she had bought the ticket, security had gotten called and threatened to take her to jail if she doesn't leave. She had been taken to jail and at court, she was given the option to either pay a fine or serve time in jail, she ended up paying the fine.
Rosa Parks was a woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who just like Viola Desmond born in a time of racial segregation.

Rosa Parks’s story is very similar to Viola’s in the fact that both of them had taken a stand to racial segregation by taking a seat. For Rosa it all too similar to what happened to Viola as she had set in a seat which black people were not allowed to sit in, when she did this they asked her to move to where she was supposed to sit(at the back of the bus) but she refused and was arrested. Rosa Parks & Viola Desmond both did similar actions, however, what they received for doing this was very different once racial segregation was no longer socially acceptable was much

different.
Viola Desmond and Rosa Parks both showed lots of courage, but the outcome of the two were very different.

When talking about the history of racial segregation and people who fought against it most people would think of Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Etc. On The other hand, most people didn't even know of Viola Desmond until recently. The reason that her story has is becoming much more well-known is because in 2010 she was pardoned of her charges by Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis. Very recently her name had been in the news because she had been chosen to be the very first woman to be the face of a bill, more specifically she was going to be the face of the $10 bill.
Rosa Park’s was not put on the face of any bill, but she had been given many other things. Rosa Parks received national recognition, including the NAACP's 1979 Spingarn Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall. As previously mentioned what they did and how it affected them, but i haven't mentioned the impact they had on other people. Rosa Parks & Viola Desmond did the same thing but the effects they had on other was rather

different.
The main reason as to why Rosa Parks would have had a much impact on people is because of how popular what she had done is. As it had been mentioned earlier when you think of activist Rosa Parks likely comes to mind, but most people hadn't heard of Viola Desmond until recently. Because of this Rosa Parks would have had a much bigger impact on people because much more people knew of what she did. I do believe that if Viola Desmond were to have been much more known at the time that she could and likely would have been as influential as Rosa Parks was, but unfortunately we won't know for sure because she wasn't as well known.
As I had mention earlier Viola Desmond and Rosa Parks do have lots in common but they defiantly do have their differences. Viola Desmond and Rosa parks both do have a rather similar story in the fact that they both had been victims of racial segregation, and that they had to move seats because they were reserved for the white people. Although they had done similar actions what they received for doing was very different. Viola Desmond had received the honor to put her face on the $10 bill, Rosa Parks had received national reignition and many awards. The last difference I included was how much/how big of an impact they had on other. Because of Rosa parks popularity, she would have had a much bigger impact on people compared to Viola Desmond whose story had just recently come to light. That is how I believe Viola Desmond and Rosa Parks compare to one another.