The Relentless School Nurse blog is honored to share this space with the brilliant nursing minds of “A Reckoning With Racism in Nursing.” A group of nursing scholars has created a collection of digital memoirs from nurses of color that must be told, shared, and amplified. This guest blog was written by Lucinda Canty PhD, CNM, FACNM, University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA, and Gayle Robinson, PhD, RN, Seattle University, WA
Working toward an antiracist nursing profession requires the experiences of nurses of color to be front and center. After the completion of the Overdue Reckoning on Racism in Nursing Series (https://nursemanifest.com/ongoing-overdue-reckoning-on-racism-in-nursing/), in October 2020, six nurses involved in the Overdue Reckoning Zoom series (Lucinda Canty, PhD, CNM, FACNM, Gayle Robinson, PhD, RN, Melissa Mokel, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, Frankie Manning, MSN, RN, Raeann LeBlanc PhD, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, CHPN, and Sue Hagedorn PhD, RN, PNP, WHNP, FAAN, FAANP) created a collective Reckoning with Racism in Nursing project. The purpose of this project was to capture the experiences of nurses of color and provide a platform for them to share their experiences. The website Reckoning with Racism in Nursing https://www.rn-reckoning.org consists of 40 individual interviews, with transcripts, and biographical information and 3 short documentaries.
With technical support from StoryCenter and funding by the Seedworks Fund, the nurses interviewed over 40 nurses of color who ranged from nursing students and new graduates to nurses with over 60 years of experience, representing all areas of nursing: clinical practice, academia, research, and administration. The stories addressed the following areas: clinical practice, nursing faculty experiences, teaching and learning practices, and nursing student experiences.
The contributions of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and other nurses of color in the nursing profession are often unseen and unheard. This project uplifts their voices and is designed to be shared widely. Through the experiences of nurses of color, we hope to bring about change that improves health outcomes for everyone.
For further inquiries or if you would like to join the mailing list, please sign up on the home page at https://www.rn-reckoning.org
