The White/Black hierarchy institutionalizes White supremacy in nursing and nursing leadership in the United States

Dismantling racism in education: In 2020, the year of the nurse & midwife, “it's time.”

“…We recognise immediately that any mentions of ‘Whiteness’, ‘White privilege’, ‘White guilt’, ‘White fragility’ or even ‘White supremacy’ ( Iheduru-Anderson, 2020 ), are almost guaranteed to induce anger, defensiveness and resistance among many White academics, students and clinicians. The objections to such labelling will be familiar: “I'm not ‘privileged’, I came from a working-class background”, “I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth”, “I've had to work hard for everything I've achieved”, “It's not my fault that I was born White”, and more.…”

Discourse of race and racism in nursing: An integrative review of literature

“…Several studies reported the experiences of discrimination and prejudice of nurses and students of color (Coleman, 2008;Hassouneh et al, 2012;Iheduru-Anderson, 2020a;Iheduru-Anderson & Wahi, 2018;Jose, 2011;Lutz et al, 2013;Robinson, 2014;Scammell & Olumide, 2012;Wheeler et al, 2013;Whitfield-Harris & Lockhart, 2016). Marginalization due to race has been reported by both faculty and students of color in academic settings as well (Beard & Julion, 2016;Lutz et al, 2013).…”

“…As Waite and Nardi (2019) Lutz et al, 2013;Moceri, 2012Moceri, , 2014Robinson, 2014;Wros et al, 2009;Xu et al, 2008). However, many are silenced by the nursing leadership and organizational culture that diminishes their experiences by denial, the reluctance to associate experiences to racism, and lack of support (Iheduru-Anderson, 2020a). Although open discussions of racial issues might sound unnerving due to the fear of saying the wrong thing or being misunderstood, nursing must overcome the fear and boldly confront racism to effect meaningful change (Beard & Julion, 2016).…”

“…Despite intensive efforts toward the goal of increasing ethnic minority nurses, engrained structural inequities remain. In fact, several studies have shown that immigrant nurses and nurses of color in the United States continue to experience acts of discrimination and racist comments from colleagues, and patients and their families (Beard & Julion, 2016;Deacon, 2011;Iheduru-Anderson, 2020a, 2020cIheduru-Anderson & Wahi, 2018;Moceri, 2014;Primeau et al, 2014). In some cases, immigrant nurses' accents have been used as reasons for discrimination in the workplace (Iheduru-Anderson, 2020b).…”

“…Silence on race and racism has implications for nurses who experience it. Nurses who experience racism often feel isolated, invisible, discouraged, and devalued (Iheduru-Anderson, 2020a;Mkandawire-Valhmu et al, 2010), often spending significant time, and emotional and mental energy managing everyday microaggressions (Sue et al, 2008) rather than focusing on patient care. Racism at all levels contributes to health disparities.…”