Before Boma Brown moved to Victoria in 2011, she never really thought about racism. Growing up Black in Nigeria, it just wasn’t something she had to think about. Now, she spends a lot of her energy trying to tackle racism.
Brown is the founder of the Support Network for Indigenous Women and Women of Color, a Victoria-based non-profit that advocates for better health outcomes for racialized women.
She started the organization in 2014, after her own experiences with the health care system and the comments she heard from doctors left her feeling like something wasn’t right with the care she received. “I didn’t know what to call it,” she said.
Talking to other racialized women helped Brown realize she wasn’t alone. She saw disparities in the health care system that left women of colour with poorer outcomes.
“Our health is just probably the most important part of our being, it’s something that we cannot take for granted. And unfortunately, you know, we have racialized women in this country whose health is in the hands, in many ways, of service providers who are not culturally competent, or have racial bias,” Brown said.
For her work with the support network, Brown has been selected as one of 10 semi-finalists from across Canada for the L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth award, which celebrates women who give back to their communities. The award comes with a $20,000 prize to fund the non-profit of the winner’s choice.
Brown hopes to use that money to continue the support network’s COVID-19 food packages that are distributed to individuals and families in Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto when they need to self-isolate. It would also help fund the free counselling services the network provides to low-income women of colour.
Brown said she is honoured to receive the nomination, which comes during Black History month.
“As a Black woman, it’s a really important time every year to be able to honour the lives of Black pioneers who have contributed to building this country, and also, to honour Black histories around the world, and here in Canada,” she said.
She wants people in Victoria to recognize that racism exists in the city and commit to intervening when they see it.
“I hope, at least, that every resident of Victoria feels a deep commitment toward anti-racism, and making sure that Black British Columbians and Black people in Victoria feel a sense of belonging,” Brown said.
Voting for the Women of Worth award is open online until March 4.
