Cape Breton University will honour Viola Desmond, who was jailed in 1945 for sitting in the whites-only section of a New Glasgow theatre. (CBC)

Nova Scotia rights icon Viola Desmond is being honoured by Cape Breton University,+ which is creating a chair in her name — the Viola Desmond chair in social justice.

Desmond, a black woman, was convicted in 1946 for sitting in the whites-only section of a movie theatre in New Glasgow. She was pardoned by the province earlier this year.

History professor Graham Reynolds will be the first holder of the chair.

He said Friday that one of the things he will try to do is get a book about Desmond into Canadian schools.

"This is a national story, and has a national historic significance, and I'd like to see this really in all the schools across Canada. So that would certainly be one of my first priorities," Reynolds said.

"I think that a chair really is a wonderful opportunity to raise consciousness and do some good things."

Desmond's sister, Wanda Robson, has written a book about her sister and the theatre incident.

CBU is also launching a campaign to raise money for a scholarship to honour Desmond and Robson.

In April, the province gave Desmond, who died in 1965, a free pardon.

Premier Darrell Dexter also apologized to Desmond's family and to all black Nova Scotians for the institutional racism of the past.

On Nov. 8, 1946, Desmond, then a 32-year-old beautician, was driving from Halifax to Sydney when her car broke down in New Glasgow. She decided to see a movie at the Roseland Theatre while she waited for repairs.

Desmond sat downstairs, unaware of the theatre's rule that blacks could sit only in the balcony seats. She was asked to leave but refused. Eventually, the manager and a police officer pulled her out.

After spending the night in jail, she was convicted the next day of tax evasion. Prosecutors made no mention of race. They told the judge that Desmond didn't pay the full price to sit up front and therefore didn't pay the proper tax — a difference of one cent.

She was fined $20 and sentenced to 30 days in jail.