*On this date in 1945, the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NSAACP) was formed.
Led by minister William Pearly Oliver, the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Colored People worked from the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church. The organization, formerly the Colored Educational Centre, intended to improve the standard of living for Black Nova Scotians and, in cooperation with private and governmental agencies, improve Black-White relations. 500 Black Nova Scotians joined the organization.
By 1956, the NSAACP had branches in Halifax, Cobequid Road, Digby, Weymouth Falls, Beechville, Inglewood, Hammonds Plains, and Yarmouth. Preston and Africville branches were added in 1962, the same year New Road, Cherrybrook, and Preston East requested chapters. In 1947, the Association successfully took the case of Viola Desmond to the Supreme Court of Canada.
It also pressured the Children's Hospital in Halifax to allow Black women to become nurses, advocated for inclusion, and challenged the racist curriculum in the Department of Education. The Association also developed an Adult Education program with the government department. By 1970, over one-third of the 270 members were white.
