Anti-Black Racism in the History of Canadian Physiotherapy Education

• In Event: Understanding Disparities and Imagining Justice: Explorations Across the Professions

Abstract

This study interrogates the historical erasure of Black experiences in the evolution of Canadian physiotherapy (PT) education. Drawing on critical race theory and qualitative content analysis, it examines peer-reviewed, non-peer-reviewed, and other sources to reveal how institutionalized anti-Black racism has shaped the profession’s development. Findings highlight how exclusionary admissions practices, modeled after British and American systems, privileged white, middle-class women while racialized narratives were invisible. By exposing these silences in the historical record, this research contributes to emerging critical PT scholarship and underscores the need for admissions reforms that promote equity. Diversifying the PT workforce is essential for advancing access and improving health outcomes for Black communities in Canada.

Author

• Oyin Otubusen, University of Manitoba