OMSA Statement on Commitment to Fighting Anti-Black Racism

As a community of future physicians, OMSA recognizes that racism and discrimination have direct consequences on health and contribute to creating and perpetuating health inequities. As an organization, OMSA is committed to engaging in advocacy that promotes diversity, inclusion, justice and equity in all its forms, and today, we commit more specifically to addressing anti-Black racism and white supremacy within our advocacy work.

In these difficult times, OMSA shares in the collective grief reverberating across many Black communities. We stand in solidarity with Black medical trainees across the province and voice our support for the anti-racism advocacy of the Black Medical Students’ Association of Canada. We further implore non-Black POC and white medical trainees to take up their responsibilities as allies in the fight against anti-Black racism. Finally, we call upon medical schools in Ontario to prioritize incorporation of policies and curricula within their institutions that specifically opposes anti-Black racism, and to support the enrolment of Black students in their institutions; the need for these are imminent now, more than ever.

Along with compiling anti-racism in medicine resource list, we are working on providing anti-oppression training to our execs, and have donated to the Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario. We encourage all our students to learn more about this organization and their work.

Click here to read the full press release from OMSA.

For more information on OMSA's advocacy efforts, please contact advocacy@omsa.ca