“To begin, we must acknowledge that from 1916 until 1964, ANA purposefully, systemically and systematically excluded Black nurses…”

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is taking a meaningful first step to acknowledge its own past actions that have negatively impacted nurses of color and perpetuated systemic racism. With the release of a formal racial reckoning statement on July 12, ANA is beginning a multi-phase journey of reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing. The Journey of Racial Reconciliation is the name for ANA’s racial reckoning journey as it seeks to address past racial harms from as far back as the formation of the association in 1896.

From the ANA statement:

“Similar to the concerns raised by Black nurses, in 1974, led by Dr. Ildaura Murillo- Rhode, a group of 12 Hispanic nurses who were also members of ANA came together to consider establishing a Hispanic Nurses Caucus within ANA because ‘ANA was not being responsive to the needs of Hispanic nurses.'”

“We know that ANA’s work to reckon with our historical and institutional racist actions and inactions is long overdue. Racism is an assault on the human spirit, and we want to be accountable for our part in perpetuating it. We have certainly failed many nurses of color and ethnic-minority nursing organizations, undoubtedly damaging our relationship with them and in so doing, diluting the richness of the nursing profession. We ask forgiveness from nurses of color as a first step to mend what is broken,” said ANA CEO Loressa Cole, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN.

“ANA recognizes that issues of racism persist today and continue to harm nurses of color. Findings from the Commission’s 2021 national survey on racism in nursing (n = 5,600) noted that racist acts are principally perpetrated by colleagues and those in positions of power. Over half of nurses surveyed (63%) said they had personally experienced an act of racism in the workplace with the transgressors being either a peer (66%) or a manager or supervisor (60%). Fifty-six percent of respondents also noted that racism in the workplace has negatively impacted their professional well-being.”

On June 11, 2022, the ANA Membership Assembly, ANA’s highest governing body, took historic action to begin a journey of racial reckoning by unanimously adopting the ANA Racial Reckoning Statement. Please read the entire statement and stay connected with ANA on its journey.

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