All the hammers and wrenches in the world cannot help Tim the tool man Houston fix this problem; he better call in the experts, oh wait, he dismissed them. Angela Bowden on the firing of Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, Dr. Kesa Munroe-Anderson, and the appointment of a white Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs.
How well is Nova Scotia’s health system serving the Black community during the pandemic? Not well at all, says Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, who is the James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies in the Faculty of Medicine and an associate professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology. We spoke about the province’s refusal to collect disaggregated race-based data, the impressive mobilization against COVID by members of the North and East Preston communities, and the challenges of vaccination. More than anything we spoke about racism.
Dr. OmiSoore Dryden:”Perhaps we can focus on why colonialism, racism and anti-black racism are fights that continue for queer and trans folks, be committed in taking actions to combat and disrupt and then, maybe then, we can come together to celebrate.”
Open letter signed by well over 50 Black scholars, community members, and allied academics and health professionals across the country, writing in support of Dr. OmiSoore Dryden and the need for disaggregated racial data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An open letter demands that Premier Stephen McNeil and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Strang apologize to Black residents of East and North Preston, Cherry Brook and Loon Lake. We talk with Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, the James R. Johnston chair in Black Studies at Dalhousie University, who spearheaded the letter.