Welcome to our Black History Month tribute page, where we celebrate the remarkable contributions of Black nurse educators who have profoundly shaped nursing and health care in Canada. Throughout history, these dedicated professionals have not only provided essential education and care but also served as advocates for equity and justice in their communities. In this space, we honour their legacy, highlight their achievements, and acknowledge their vital role in shaping the future of nursing.
CASN’s Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) Nurse Educator Interest Group members provided input on the Black nursing pioneers to be highlighted as well as the short summaries detailing their accomplishments.
Join us as we explore their inspiring stories and impact on the lives of countless individuals. Together, let’s celebrate the strength and resilience of Black nurse educators who continue to inspire change and foster inclusivity in health care.
Black Nursing Pioneers
To honour the legacy of Black nurses, CASN will feature several posts throughout the month to highlight Black nursing pioneers.
Bernice Redmon ▼
Did you know that Bernice Redmon was the first Black Canadian nurse to practise public health and be appointed to the Victorian Order of Nurses in Canada? Due to racial barriers in Canadian nursing programs, she had to pursue her nursing education in the United States. She returned to Canada in 1945 and was employed at the Nova Scotia Department of Health.
Her contributions and accomplishments to the field of nursing made way for more Black women to be trained and employed in hospitals across Canada by the late 1940s and 1950s.
The first Canadian nursing training school opened in 1874, with the first baccalaureate nursing program starting in 1919. In 1948, almost 75 years after the first nursing school opened, Gwennyth Barton and Ruth Bailey became the first Black nurses to earn nursing diplomas in Canada from the Grace Maternity School of Nursing in Halifax. Today, their legacies live on and are reflected in the diversity of students in nursing schools across Canada.
On September 1, 1964, Quebec’s legislation to protect employees from discrimination, including discrimination based on race, went into effect. Gloria Clarke Baylis, a Black nurse and midwife, went to Montreal’s Queen Elizabeth Hotel to apply for a nursing position and was told that it had been filled; she later learned that the position had not yet been filled. Baylis was the first person in Canada to initiate a case under the new Act, alleging employment-related discrimination based on race. She won her case in October 1965, standing up for the rights of Black nurses and people across Canada.
Another Canadian Black History Month nurse pioneer is Marisse Scott. She was Ontario’s first Black nurse to graduate and practise in the province. Scott was admitted to nursing school after trade unions and church groups pressured nursing schools to accept Black students. She joined the nursing profession in 1950. She paved the way for the diversity of Black nurses that graduate and practise across the province today.
Jamaican-born nurse leader Una Ridley was the first Black president of the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). She held the position from 1976 to 1977. She had a tremendous influence on health programming and paved the way for CNO’s second Black president, Sandra Robinson (2020–2022).
Welcome to our Black History Month tribute page, where we celebrate the remarkable contributions of Black nurse educators who have profoundly shaped nursing and health care in Canada. Throughout history, these dedicated professionals have not only provided essential education and care but also served as advocates for equity and justice in their communities. In this space, we honour their legacy, highlight their achievements, and acknowledge their vital role in shaping the future of nursing.
