Abstract:

Like many higher education institutions, Dalhousie University has been inconsistent in efforts to redress harms to racialized students, staff, and faculty. There have been 30 years of reports on the wrongs of building the academy upon the gains made possible by colonialism and slavery. While some programs have been initiated and student supports have increased, efforts on the curricular development side have been too slow. The year of 2023 saw concrete change in that regard. in January 2023, for the first time, there is an elective course available to all students in the Faculties of Health and Arts & Social Sciences, called Centering Black Canadian Health. This course uses a social determinants lens to educate students on Black Canadians' experiences in health care. This method offers insight into how Canadian education, justice, and social systems have impacted, and continue to impact, Black Canadians' physical, emotional, and mental health. Also in 2023, after four years in development, heralded the Africentric Bachelor of Social Work cohort, a culturally grounded educational environment offering a fully funded undergraduate degree for 36 students. All aspects of the cohort have been shaped by Africentric principles, from community consultation and advising to admissions processes, curricular design, faculty, and professional mentoring. This cohort is a form of reparations for the harms the profession of social work has done to people of African descent over decades, with culturally meaningful approaches that will address the underrepresentation of people of African descent in the social work field.

This session will detail the approaches taken to reach these two milestones: the relationships, timeline, government partnerships, university processes, community liaisons, and delivery logistics, with successes and challenges throughout. The unique context of Nova Scotia will be overviewed, given its historical significance as where Black people have lived and built community, industry, trade, and stewardship of the land since 1600 and the contemporary significance of ongoing, everyday anti-Black racism. Both presenters have been at the university for over 20 years and will address the shifts witnessed and influenced over the decades.

Keywords:

Africentric education, healthcare, health professions, reparations.