New graduate program in Black health at U of T addresses 'a life-and-death matter,' creator says

Advocates say the launch of a new master's program in Black health at the University of Toronto is an exciting step in the right direction to makehealth care accessible and equitable to Black communities.

The program can help the next generation of health providers improveoutcomes in Black communities that are still feeling the effects of centuries of racism, colonization and violence, says Roberta Timothy, an assistant professor at theDalla Lana School of Public Health and the program's creator.

"It's a life-and-death matter for us," Timothy said.

"Training folks to not only do better, but to create safer spaces for us to seek health care, and to seek healing and wellness, is the main goal."

The program, which will run for two years for full-time students and four years for part-time,will welcome its first cohort of 10 students in person next year.

Timothy believes this is the first program of its kind, but she hopes it doesn't stay that way.She and other advocates hope it inspiressimilar projects both locally and abroad becauseBlack, Indigenous and other racialized groupswere in need of better health carebefore the pandemic, and were hardest-hit during it.

"We are doing this to create social change and social justice within our communities, and hopefully others," said Timothy.

Forced to take action

Poor health in Blackcommunities is thedirect result ofpoor access to, anddiscrimination in,job andhousing markets as well as inthe health-care, education, criminal justice, and social welfare systems, according to the federal government's 2020 snapshot on Black health.

The Black Health Alliancesays these social determinantsraise Black people'srisk of getting chronicdiseasessuch as diabetes. And without Black workers who are attuned to the nuances of Black health care, the problem only gets worse, the alliance states.

Black advocates have been calling for acknowledgement and change for decades.

Butit was the public reckoningsurrounding the murderof George Floyd in the United States, and Black people who died after interactions with police officerslike D'Andre Campbell and Regis Korchinski-Paquetthat turned the tide infavour of change,saysAngela Robertson, the executive director of the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre.

"That has, I think, forced institutions to take action," Robertson told CBC News.

The program is a show of support thataffirms theexperienceof Black people, but she says it alone won't be enough to bringchange without supportand more Black-specific initiatives across institutions.

"There's a lot of work to be done."

'Ahard win to get'

Students will learn about Black research, treatment andresistance in health care,and will get a chance to work in the field with community organizations. While the program is open to everybody, Timothy hopes to highlightBlack health professionals. For now, core courses will be reserved for the inaugural cohort, with some availability to all students at the school.

Timothy says the response to program has mostly been positive, with many current medical practitioners reaching out to tell her if this existed when they were in school, they'd apply in a heartbeat.

Dr. Fatimah Jackson-Best, an assistant professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, is one of them.

"I remember being one of very few Black students there very interested in Black health," saidJackson-Best, who isalsotheproject lead for the Black Health Alliance's mental health project, called Pathways to Care.

"These kinds of degree programs, they're hard fought for and it's a hard win to get. But it's so encouraging."

Jackson-Best says it takes a lot of time and administrative work for these types of projects to happen especially when Black health professionals often get confronted withquestionsaboutwhy these programsneedto exist in the first place.

Timothy herself notes at the beginning of her career, she was looked down upon for her work and advocacy in Black health, and was told she'd never get a job if she kept it up.

But Robertson, Timothy and Jackson-Best allhopetosee the program expand, and other schools follow suit.

"I hope that they'll see this as a spark that will ignite a huge fire, anda huge focus on Black health," said Jackson-Best.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.