Journey to Justice

Journey to Justice pays tribute to a group of Canadians who took racism to court. They are Canada's unsung heroes in the fight for Black civil rights. Focusing on the 1930s to the 1950s, this film documents the struggle of six people who refused to accept inequality. Viola Desmond insisted on keeping her seat at the Roseland movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia in 1946 rather than moving to the section normally reserved for the city's Black population. Fred Christie was denied service at a Montreal tavern because of his skin colour and took his case to the Supreme Court in 1936. Hugh Burnette and Bromley Armstrong pressured the Ontario government to enact fair accommodation practices in the 1940s. Donald Willard Moore dedicated his life to reforming Canada's biased immigration policy. Stanley G. Grizzle, president of the Toronto Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, worked to ensure fair employment practices for his predominantly Black union members. These brave pioneers helped secure justice for all Canadians. Their stories deserve to be told.