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Biography by Renee
Intro
Violet King
Violet Pauline King Henry was born on October 18th,1929,in Calgary,Alberta, and she died on March 30th,1982 in New York,New York. Violet was the first Black Canadian to obtain a degree in law,the first Black person to be admitted to the Alberta Bar,and the first Black woman to become a lawyer in Canada.
Early life
Violet's grandparents moved to Keystone (now Breton), Alberta, from Oklahoma in 1911. They moved there after finding out that the Federal government of Canada had a campaign to get American farmers to immigrate to Canada. Violet's parents moved to Calgary in 1919. They had 4 children, Violet, Vern, Lucille and Ted.
Fact: Ted King, Violet's brother, launched a legal challenge against a Calgary motel's discriminatory policy in 1959. He lost but his case exposed legal loopholes innkeepers could exploit in order to deny lodging to Black patrons.
Education
Education
Violet went to Crescent Heights High School. It was in high school that she was interested in law, writing in her grade 12 year book that she wanted to become a criminal lawyer. Violet later attended the University of Alberta. There, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1952 and a Bachelor of Law degree in 1953. Furthermore, she was the only woman in her graduating class.
Later years/career
Later years
After graduating, Violet practiced law in Calgary for a few years. In 1953, Violet described the challenges women faced in the work force and expressed hope in the future that greater would be placed on one's ability instead of their race or gender. Then, Violet moved to Ottawa where she worked for the federal citizen board for 7 years. In 1963, she moved to New Jersey to help out youths and became executive director of a YMCA branch. Violet moved again to Chicago and became the first woman to have a management position in the American organization.
Major contributions
Major contributions
Violet King was, Canada's first Black female lawyer, the first woman to hold an executive position in the YMCA in the U.S. and,the first Black person to graduate from law school in Alberta.
Fact: It would take almost a decade till Alberta had its second Black lawyer, Lionel James.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Violet King is an inspiration because back then, it was extremely difficult to enter the legal profession for all women, and especially those who belonged to a certain race. Violet broke those barriers and became Canada's first Black female lawyer. On March 30th,1982, Violet died of cancer in New York at the age of 52. Although, she died at 52, Violet King accomplished many things.
1. Ruck,Lindsay.2017,November 16.Violet King. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/violet-king
2. Violet King:Canada's First Black Female Lawyer. 2017, February 6. Retrieved from https://legalarchives.ca/violet-king-canadas-first-black-lawyer/
3. Noteworthy Historical Figures. 2019, February 5. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/black-history-month/black-canadians.html
4.Violet King (no date published) https://www.ryerson.ca/criminaljusticefirsts/courts/Violet-King/