Anti-black racism, higher education, job search: a personal reflective journey.

Bernadette Mary Poku RN

October 2020

 The term anti-black racism was new to me. I had experienced racial injustice and discrimination from other immigrants; I was of the belief that they did not like black people. Likewise, understanding of being black, as in the skin color and not ancestry also played a factor in people being prejudiced. Onward into 2020, the talk of anti-black racism / discrimination became a focal point for me. I looked at work the new hires, there were immigrants and visible minorities but they were not black. The diversity talk and discussion often miss this important aspect of the social realities of black people. Anti-Black Racism is a term coined by social work professor Akua Benjamin. Anti-black racism “is defined here as policies and practices rooted in Canadian institutions such as, education, health care, and justice that mirror and reinforce beliefs, attitudes, prejudice, stereotyping and/or discrimination towards people of Black-African descent.”

Just recently, I decided to apply for a new nursing position with a different company in a small town. I have been nursing with this particular institution for over ten years. I have grown during this period as a person. I have amassed diplomatic and negotiation skills; I have learned to fight my battles and engage in winnable battles. Each day I work within the institution I see more and more of attitudes and behaviors that need to change but do not. As a black woman, I have also learned to use language that addressed race and racism, microaggressive behaviors and de-escalate issues within the healthcare setting. Although I felt confident with all my experience and education, I was also very aware of who I was and where I was. I was in a white space. After a recent interview that I felt I did well, but was too unsure, I asked the second interviewer of her opinion and if there were any questions, she would like to ask she found the interview very insightful and in-depth and really pull on different areas of nursing. Then the usual, I will hear from them. I did hear from them and got the job after the rave reviews from my previous and present clinical educator. To be able to celebrate this, I had my own emotional and psychological turmoil.

I was dealing a double consciousness. The me that my friends and I know, a smart and confident woman, an educated and passionate nurse and what the world sees, a black woman with too much of an exuberance. Would I be concerned with all these “views” about me if I was a white woman? I was not only dealing with the double consciousness of how black people see me, but how the world out there, white and other perceived non blacks perceived me, included in that is the gender aspect.  Black women are the most educated group in the United States; however, that education does not translate to earnings.  In Canada, I belong to the trend of black women getting their masters and pursuing higher education but at it all, we deal with the demons of society in the privacy of our homes. We deal with the intersectional of identity formation that has been influence by the social experiences had and the keen knowledge of anti-blackness in the country.  The awareness I have gained, as a black woman in nursing, does not correlate with the research material and discussions of experience, which are needed change narratives and policies. I question more often, how many of us have had mental breakdown due to work place violence, aggression and discrimination from management, colleagues and clients.

Although I got the job, the mental and psychological turmoil I went through was unwarranted. This occurred because of social attitudes and behaviors towards black people. Waiting for a turn down because of skin color irrespective of qualifications. The nature of and types of injustices that we deal with.

 

Reference

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/black-women-become-most-educated-group-us-a7063361.html

https://www.thoughtco.com/black-women-most-educated-group-us-4048763

https://blackhealthalliance.ca/home/antiblack-racism/

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2009/05/14/darker_the_skin_less_you_fit.html