INSIGHTS: Advancing Black Health and Anti-Racism in Nursing

By Guest Opinion

I entered the nursing profession with the sole desire to care for people and to be a part of creating solutions within our health care system. Yet, like many Black nurses, I quickly realized that caring for others often meant carrying the invisible weight of racism and exclusion. 

Throughout my career, I have been questioned about my competence, been overlooked for career advancement, or been asked to “prove” my leadership capacity. While working in critical care, a patient’s family member once told me, “You must have been born here to be this knowledgeable.” It was meant as praise, but it revealed the racist assumption that expertise in health care belongs to whiteness.

Another time, I applied for a position I was clearly overqualified for, yet the role went to a white colleague with neither the experience nor the credentials. These experiences reveal a broader pattern of how Black nurses are positioned within health care hierarchies and power my commitment to pave the way for future Black nurses to thrive without having to constantly defend their right to belong.

Leadership is an act of service grounded in compassion, courage, and justice. As a Black nurse, my career has unfolded at the intersection of care and advocacy – a journey that continues to shape how I see equity, progress, and systemic change within Canada’s health care system. 

The recent IJB investigation into anti-Black racism at CAMH, and the stories that emerged from it, reflect the experiences that many of us endure quietly in health care and academic institutions. They serve as a reminder that the problem is not confined to one institution; it is woven into the very structures that define health care itself. 

Leadership demands humility, courage, and the willingness to speak truth to power. Too often, I witness the resilience of Black nurses, clients, and colleagues navigating systems that have not always recognized our full humanity. A core part of my purpose is to create and sustain spaces where these realities can be addressed. 

Throughout Canada, I have been inspired by conversations with colleagues who are leading anti-racism work in their own corners. Hope is ignited as I see nurses developing mentorship networks, educators integrating Black health content into curricula, and administrators advocating for accountability frameworks that address harms caused by racism. 

These collective efforts reveal an important truth: advancing health equity starts with transforming the culture of our workplaces. True inclusion is not achieved through performative gestures or one-time training sessions, but through consistent, intentional investment in policies and practices that protect and empower racialized staff. Addressing anti-Black racism in health care also means recognizing the invisible labour – uncompensated and unacknowledged – Black nurses undertake in service to their organizations. This labour is not ancillary; it is essential to building safer, more equitable healthcare environments and it deserves to be supported.

Anti-Black racism in health care is not only a workforce issue but also a public health issue that affects outcomes, trust, and the moral integrity of our institutions. To lead with purpose, we must be accountable to those we serve and those who came before us. We must hold space for truth, even when it is uncomfortable, while building systems that honour the dignity and humanity of all. In doing so, we move closer to a health care system where no nurse or patient ever has to question their worth – a system where equity is not merely an aspiration but interwoven into the fabric of society and lived as a reality.

The IJB’s CAMH investigation has sparked difficult but necessary conversations about accountability and trust in health care. For me, it reaffirmed that healing begins with truth-telling and listening to those who have been harmed, while responding with tangible action. 

After the investigation, I noticed more people openly discussing anti-Black racism in health care online, creating space for dialogue that had long been silenced.

My vision for the future of nursing leadership is one where Black voices are not tokens or afterthoughts, but are at the core of policy reform, research, and education. It is paramount that the next generation of nurses inherit a system that recognizes their brilliance and not one which questions their presence. 

To achieve this vision, Canada’s healthcare leaders must move beyond performative allyship toward transformative practice that prioritizes equity, safety, and belonging for both patients and those who care for them.