Carrie Best

(1903 - 2001)

Carrie Best was a human rights activist, publisher, broadcaster and

co-founder of the Black owned newspaper, The Clarion.

Carrie Best’s Early Life

Carrie Best was born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, in 1903. During a time
of racial discrimination and segregation in Canada, Best and her siblings were raised by her
parents to be proud of their Black Canadian heritage and to study Black history. Best was a
very smart child that wrote opinion letters and poems for local newspapers from a young age.
She studied Black authors, historians and poets and used them to fuel her writing because
she was so unhappy with how Black people were portrayed in local culture. Best considered
becoming a nurse once she finished formal school, but no Canadian schools accepted Black
people at the time.

Activism
In 1941, The Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow removed several Black teenagers from their
movie theatre for trying to sit in the”White only” section. When Carrie Best heard about it,
she came to their defence, arguing with Norman Mason, the owner of the Roseland Theatre.
Her arguments were not respected. A few days later, Best and her son attempted to purchase
a ticket on the main floor of the same theatre. The cashier refused, giving them tickets for the
balcony on the “Black only” section. Best and her son refused, going on to sit on the main floor
in the “White only” section instead. The assistant manager was called to urge them to leave.
They continued to refuse, and so the assistant manager called the police. Best and her son were
physically removed from their seats, charged with disturbing the peace and fined. Best filed
a civil lawsuit specifying racial discrimination. The Roseland Theatre Company Ltd., said the
Bests were trespassing and did not have a ticket. In 1942, the courts ruled in favour of the
Roseland Theatre, ignoring the discrimination and forced her to pay the theatre’s legal fees.

The Clarion and other Ventures

Even though she lost the case against the Roseland Theatre, Carrie Best was not deterred. Soon,
she would have a bigger platform to combat the injustice of racism and segregation. In 1946,
she and her son Calbert, founded The Clarion. It was one of the first newspapers in Nova Scotia
owned and published by Black Canadians. The Clarion provided readers with updates on sports,
news, social activities and community events. The Clarion became an official company in 1947.

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 Carrie Best

For ten years, it encouraged better race relations and advocated for Black rights. In 1956, it
was renamed and was available nationally.

Viola Desmond experienced a similar treatment at The Roseland Theatre as the Black teenagers
and Carrie Best in 1941. She was a business woman from Halifax, whose car broke down in
New Glasgow. Unfamiliar with New Glasgow’s segregation laws, Desmond also purchased a
ticket at The Roseland Theatre, going to sit where the best seats were. She was told she was in
the “Whites only” section and must move. When she refused to leave the “White only” section,
the police were called, she was assaulted and thrown into jail overnight. At her trial, she was
convicted and fined $26. She decided to fight, taking her case to the Supreme Court of Nova
Scotia. Best was instrumental in that fight, featuring Desmond’s story in The Clarion. She also
asked readers to donate to help fund Desmond’s court case. They were unsuccessful however,
as all five judges of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia sided with The Roseland Theatre and
rejected Desmond’s case. It wasn’t until 2010, when Desmond had been deceased for 45 years
that she finally received her pardon.

In 1952, The Quiet Corner was produced by Carrie Best, a radio program that featured her at
the microphone. She played classical and religious music, read poems by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow and Black poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar. Her show was very successful for four years
to Maritime listeners.

She was not only a civil rights activist for Black people, but also wrote articles beginning in
1968 for the Pictou Advocate, writing a weekly column entitled, “Human Rights,” until 1975.
Carrie Best wrote articles that promoted Indigenous rights to improve living conditions on
reserves and further civil rights for all people.

In 1975, Carrie Best founded the Kay Livingstone Visible Minority

Women’s Society to provide educational funding for Black
women. Kay Livingstone was an inspiring activist who
started the first National Congress of Black Women
of Canada and was admired by Best.

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Legacy
Carrie Best’s commitment to human rights have been recognized provincially and
federally. In 1974, the Governor General named her as a Member of the Order of Canada.
She was awarded an honorary doctor of law from St. Francis University in Nova Scotia.
University of King’s College in Halifax awarded her an honorary doctorate of civil law in
1992. There’s also a scholarship from the University of King’s College called the Dr. Carrie
Best Scholarship. She also received the Queen Elizabeth Medal in 1977 and a variety of other
awards including the Order of Nova Scotia in 2002 after her peaceful death at home in
2001. Canada Post released a stamp in her honour in February of 2011. She has also been
profiled in a Google Doodle in 2021. Carrie Best was a remarkable Black Canadian that has
blazed a trail for all civil rights activists that came after.

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 Carrie Best Questions
1. Who was Carrie Best?

2. Pick any of Carrie Best’s accomplishments that you connect with and explain why you feel a
connection.

3. The teenage girls, Carrie Best and her son and Viola Desmond were all forcibly removed from
the Roseland Theatre. Have you ever heard of these incidents? They sparked a large civil
rights movement across the country. Why do you think many Canadians don’t know about
these stories of social justice?

4. How was Carrie Best important to human rights causes in Nova Scotia?

5. What makes Carrie Best a remarkable Black Canadian?

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 Carrie Best Answers
1. Who was Carrie Best?
Carrie Best was a human rights activist, publisher, broadcaster and co-founder of the
Black owned newspaper, The Clarion.

2. Pick any of Carrie Best’s accomplishments that you connect with and explain why you feel a
connection.
Answers will vary.

3. The teenage girls, Carrie Best and her son and Viola Desmond were all forcibly removed from
the Roseland Theatre. Have you ever heard of these incidents? They sparked a large civil
rights movement across the country. Why do you think many Canadians don’t know about
these stories of social justice?
Answers will vary. Consider: They are acts of racism. Racism is able to continue when
people do not acknowledge it or know that it has happened.

4. How was Best important to human rights causes in Nova Scotia?

Answers will vary. Consider: It brought light to injustices against a variety of people of
colour, not just Black people. She used The Clarion to highlight important issues such as
support for Viola Desmond.

5. What makes Carrie Best a remarkable Black Canadian?

Answers will vary.

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