Truth and Reconciliation
Truth and Reconciliation Apology and Resolution
The Board of Directors (BOD) of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) is committed to creating a future that prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion and supports the continuing process to become an anti-racist organization. As part of this process, the BOD tasked the ACNM Ethics Committee to develop a resolution on truth and reconciliation and make recommendations to the BOD for next steps in the process. The Ethics Committee convened a Truth & Reconciliation Task Force (T&R TF) to meet this charge. The attached Truth and Reconciliation Resolution developed by the BOD is based upon the extensive information and recommendations submitted to the BOD by the T&R TF.
The BOD of ACNM would like to sincerely apologize for the systemic racism that has existed and continued in our organization since it incorporated in 1954. We recognize that the BOD, through many presidencies and CEOs, perpetuated actions that were racist, exclusive, discriminatory and harmful to individual members of ACNM. Systemic racism is among the greatest long-term threats to our nation, the profession of midwifery, and the people we serve. For ACNM to be an organization to which everyone can feel they belong and can thrive, the BOD and our organization must hold ourselves accountable for our contributions to systemic racism. Speaking the truth on our history and the harm caused by it through ACNM’s denial, gaslighting, censorship, and exclusion is the first step in long-overdue restorative measures for our community of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), allowing us to promote inclusion, belonging, and a safe space for all midwives. For these reasons, ACNM is issuing its Truth and Reconciliation Resolutionthat acknowledges the harms caused by its previous actions and establishes a set of resolutions in response.
ACNM acknowledges that it can no longer continue to attribute the white washing of midwifery to a lack of qualifications or interest by Black and Indigenous people. This fails to acknowledge that white supremacy acted as suppressor, then law enforcer and “teacher”, then eliminator and replacer of Black and Indigenous traditional midwives with white midwives.
ACNM leadership acknowledges and apologizes for past and present harms to BIPOC midwives and the organization’s role in perpetuating and maintaining systemic racism in midwifery and healthcare. Historical facts clearly illustrate that the exclusion of Black and Indigenous midwives was intentional and by design, with the resulting whiteness of the profession of midwifery as the intended outcome. Unless efforts at inclusion are explicit, tailored, continuous, and well resourced, the result is exclusion. In the coming months, the BOD and ACNM is undertaking a full audit of actions and history and making changes to web pages, documents, and processes to ensure they are anti-racist and inclusive.
Sincerely,
| Cathy Collins-Fulea, DNP, CNM, FACNM President | Jessica Brumley, CNM, FACNM, PhD |
| Bridget Howard, CNM, MSN Secretary | Cara Krulewitch, CNM, PhD, FACNM, FAAN Treasurer |
| Karen Jefferson, CM, DM, FACNM Region I Representative | Nichole Wardlaw, CNM, FACNM |
Elois Edge, DNP, CNM, APRN, MSN, FACNM | Kathleen Lavery, MS, CNM |
Ann Forster Page, CNM, DNP, ARRN, FACNM | Jessica Anderson, DNP, CNM, WHNP, FACNM |
Theresa Coley-Kouadio, CNM, MSN | Felina M. Ortiz, CNM, RN, DNP Midwives of Color Committee Representative |
Kendall McCoy | Katrina H. Holland |
The ACNM BOD would like to acknowledge the extensive work and investment of time of the Truth & Reconciliation Task Force (T&R TF) that informed our resolution and who will continue in our ongoing process. The members of the T&R TF are:
Margaret David, CNM, RN
Ana Delgado, MS, CNM
Michelle Drew, DNP, CNM, MPH, FNP
Meghan Eagen-Torkko, PhD, CNM
Helena Grant, MS, CNM, CICP
Ashley Greene, CNM
Ira Kantrowitz-Gordon, PhD, CNM, ARNP, FACNM
