Black History Month - In Their Words - Dr. Abiola Fajobi

Black History Month is an opportunity for our hospital, all organizations and all individuals across the country, to recognize and honour the past and present contributions of Black Canadians. Throughout the month we will be sharing stories from our staff and physicians as they reflect on what Black History Month means to them.

Black history month for me is a time to celebrate our spirit, our talents, our culture, our resilience, and our victories.  It is also a time of personal reflection, acknowledging the inequities and inequalities experienced by Black people, particularly Black women in Canada.

Growing up in Nigeria as young child, I was surrounded by physicians within my community many of whom were close and extended relatives so I did not fully appreciate the impact of seeing role models within the field of medicine until much later in life. Unfortunately, this experience is not the same for many racialized communities in Canada, and this gap in representation contributes to the many challenges we face in medicine today, especially for Black women. Therefore, I often take this time to examine how I can continue to serve my community, by using my voice, inspiring and guiding the next wave of black female physicians, because representation matters.

It is my hope that this Black History Month can be a time for everyone and for our organization to join in the celebration of the achievements of Canadians and members of our community who identify as Black. I hope we can all take this time to remember that we are more similar than different and where we are different, therein lies our strength as a community. I believe that uplifting members of our community who may be socially disadvantaged, will lead to a better community for us all. After all, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr, “No one is free until we are all free”. My hope is that we can all take a moment to reflect on how we may continue to uplift all racialized individuals in our community whenever such an opportunity presents itself. After all, charity as they say, begins at home.

Dr Abiola. O. Fajobi MD, MPH, CCFP