Projects
Check out some of the research, art, speeches, interviews, papers and more created by Black diasporic nurses in British Columbia to disrupt anti-Black racism within Canadian nursing.
"Enhancing Capacity of the Coalition of African, Caribbean, and Black Nurses (CACBN) to Support Black Nurses in British Columbia to Achieve Greater Psychological Health in the Workplace".
Tasha Clarke is a nurse and holds a Master of Arts in Health Leadership from Royal Roads University. In her thesis work, Tasha examined, How can the CACBN support Black nurses to achieve greater psychological health in the workplace?
She provides a number of recommendations, including CACBN engage in mentorship activities!
This two minute promotional video is for Kyra Philbert's, vice-president of CACBN, MSN thesis work where she explored what makes Blackness so surprising in Canadian nursing. The video features Philbert in her drag-burlesque alter-ego Nurse Angélique, a homage to Marie-Joseph Angélique-- an enslaved Black woman killed in Old Montréal in 1734 for her "crime": trying to escape to freedom at the expense of white settler capital.
Racism in Healthcare: The Black Nurses' Experience
Presented by Nurses' Voices, this 30 minute recorded presentation features CACBN Treasurer Adigo Angela Achoba-Omajali and anti-racist activist Janice John-Mitchell sharing experiences of anti-Black occupational racism. These incidents are from colleagues, the administration and patients alike.
Angela & Janice use their testimony to illustrate how unaddressed anti-Black racism in the workplace hinders Black nurses' ability to provide the excellent standard of care they are qualified for... as their professional duty as registered nurses clashes with their personal safety as Black folks in white settler Canada.
The conversation ends with strategies for all nurses to address the systemic racism faced by Black nurses in practice in British Columbia.
Exploring Climate Change and Mental Health
In April 2022, Natania Abebe (CACBN Secretary) created a toolkit and a short documentary film focused on a pressing existential concern: our planet's health!
"This toolkit is designed for use by educators to empower students to think critically about the structural and socio-political inequities that affect them while centering climate change and mental health through embedded reflective exercises."
Centering Black feminist thought in nursing praxis
In this academic article, CACBN co-founder Ismália De Sousa and co-author Dr. Colleen Varcoe, build a compelling case on why Black feminist thought, such as the framework of intersectionality, are relevant and necessary in nursing knowledge and practice to revolt against the dominance of whiteness.
De Sousa & Varcoe conclude with a nursing promise coherent with CACBN's vision, mission and goals:
"Thus, we pledge that the discipline uses and teaches Black feminist thought and sees it as a sociopolitical praxis that engages with social justice globally, fostering the emancipation of the invisible and underrepresented."
How Clinical Nurse Specialists Can Promote Anti-Racism in the Health Care System
In this online webinar recording, Dr. Dzifa Dordunoo (CACBN President) and Natania Abebe (CACBN Secretary) breakdown the findings of our open letter while providing clear and concrete strategies on how clinical nurse specialists can engage in anti-racist action as front line leaders for system change!
Black (In)Visibility: Black Nurses in Canada who Paved the Way
Featuring two presentations, This is a recording of an online event organised during Black History Month 2021.
First is a revolutionary talk by historian Dr. Karen Flynn about the contributions of Black nurses in BC and Canada.
The second focuses on nurse doctoral student & CACBN instigator, Ismália De Sousa's project on BC Black nurses and midwives in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Finally, CACBN president Dr. Dzifa Dordunoo offers critical reflections on how a knowledge of history ensures anti-racist action in the present by rending these stories visible.