One day in 1946, hair salon owner Viola Desmond’s car broke down in the town of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. To pass the time while it was being fixed, she went to the movies, only to be told she had to move from her main floor seat to the balcony – the theatre was racially segregated, and she, a black woman, could not sit among the white patrons. Desmond refused to move and ended up spending the night in jail. Her story and ensuing legal battle angered and inspired the province’s black community, and became the catalyst for protests that eventually resulted in racial segregation becoming illegal.

Jody Nyasha Warner and Richard Rudnicki’s rendering of Desmond’s tale is a wonderful marriage of text and image. Warner uses a warm oral storytelling voice that invites the reader to “come on here, listen in close” to the tale of a woman who “sat down for her rights.” Rudnicki’s bright illustrations capture the changing emotions on Viola’s face while supplying details of architecture and fashion that bring the period vividly to life.

Although we might wish to hear more of Viola’s own voice, her bravery in the face of injustice is skilfully depicted, and an afterword provides more details about African-Canadian history.