Nominations now open for the 2019 Viola Desmond Awards
Ryerson student Susanne Nyaga at the 2018 Viola Desmond Awards. Photo: Clifton Li.
Do you know a Black female trailblazer who has worked to empower their community at Ryerson and in GTA? Now’s your chance to nominate this leader for a Viola Desmond Award, named in honour of the Canadian human rights icon.
Nominations for the five award categories – Ryerson faculty member, staff member, current student, prospective student, and alumna – will be accepted until February 1, 2019, at 5 p.m.
How to nominate
- Start by reviewing the award eligibility criteria.
- Submit a nomination by filling out the (google form) Viola Desmond Awards Nomination Form (external link) .
The 11th Annual Viola Desmond Awards will be presented on March 4, 2019, on campus, hosted by Ryerson University’s Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion.
A new category for 2019
This year, for the first time, an award will also be given to a Ryerson alumna.
“As the ceremony continues, many of our student recipients are graduating and continuing to do amazing work within the Black community. The new award category spoke to a need for recognition of the next phase of their lives,” said Darrell Bowden, director of the Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion. “Our committee created the new category as a way of reconnecting with alumni, recognizing the work they are doing, and also keeping alumni informed of happenings at Ryerson.”
This year’s ceremony will also be a celebration of the debut of Canada’s new $10 bill featuring Desmond, the first Black woman to be on the face of Canada’s currency. The bill officially entered circulation November 19, 2018.
About Viola Desmond
Viola Desmond (1914-1965) was an African-Nova Scotian female entrepreneur who bravely challenged racial segregation at the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia in 1946. Her struggle became one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history and Desmond remains widely recognized for her fight for human rights.