A celebration Sunday in Dartmouth to observe the birthday of civil rights icon Viola Desmond also highlighted her contributions to the Black business community in Nova Scotia.

A crowd of around 200 people gathered for the event on what would have been Desmond's 111th birthday. It was dubbed Being Black and Beautiful in Downtown Dartmouth and was hosted by the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission in collaboration with the Black Beauty Culture Association.

"We're together celebrating being our ow…