UCalgary leads national effort to advance Black child and youth well-being

In 2024, a University of Calgary project led by Dr. Bukola Salami, PhD, received $2.5 million in funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to improve the well-being of Black children and youth in Canada.  

“Our project is both timely, strategic and bold in its focus on producing knowledge, mobilizing knowledge and ensuring sustainability by training the next generation of Black scholars," says Salami, a member of the O’Brien Institute for Public Health and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM).

Since its launch, the Transforming Black Lives project has made significant strides towards addressing the systemic inequities faced by Black children and youth in five key areas: 

• education
• health
• the justice system
• the child welfare system
• immigration and settlement. 

The work over the past year culminated in two knowledge mobilization activities: a summer institute and conference focused on building the capacity of Black communities to co-create evidence-based, multi-faceted solutions to the critical issues they face. 

The project is also leading a national survey to examine the experiences and outcomes of Black children and youth and their parents in the project’s five key areas.

“Canada’s Black population is growing, and we know they experience significant gaps in life outcomes compared to other groups. The Transforming Black Lives project is working to close those gaps, benefitting not just Black communities, but Canada as a whole,” says Salami, also a professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Black and Racialized Peoples Health in the Faculty of Nursing and Department of Community Health Sciences at the CSM

“When Black children thrive, Black communities thrive. And when Black communities thrive, we all thrive.” 

National institute focuses on Black child and youth well-being

The Black Scholar Summer Institute was the first of its kind to support Black graduate student groups and early career researchers across Canada in developing critical research skills. The inaugural three-day institute held from May 5-7, 2025, provided training to around 60 Black students from various institutions to strengthen their capacity as researchers. 

It featured workshops, presentations and training sessions on topics including: 

• grant writing
• data analysis
• knowledge mobilization
• career planning. 

“The institute's mission is to advance Black child and youth knowledge, health, and wellness through research, policy, community engagement, and mentorship,” says Dr. Malinda Smith, PhD, associate vice-president research (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) and a co-investigator in the Transforming Black Lives project at UCalgary, when addressing attendees. “It plays a transformative role by shifting from traditional modes of research on Black communities to an inclusive excellence research approach with Black communities and by Black communities."

It counters deficit-thinking and anti-Blackness with evidence, experience, centering Black voices, needs, and agency throughout the research process, and by highlighting Black brilliance, in health, in STEM, in the social sciences and humanities, and more.”

The centering of Black voices and brilliance as part of the institute was validating for some of the participants. 

“Participating in the summer institute and conference meant a lot to me. It was motivating to see senior Black scholars with diverse expertise doing amazing things. The sense of belonging from being surrounded by people who look like me was therapeutic,” says UCalgary postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Emmanuel Marfo, PhD.

For others, the experience was just as impactful, offering an opportunity to learn and develop academically, professionally, and personally.

“This summer institute and conference gave me holistic support as a researcher and provided me with the tools to continue carrying out my research in a safe and healthy way,” says Queen’s University PhD student, Vivian Yejide Kilanko.

Following the institute, the Black Child and Youth Wellness Conference brought together Black youth, researchers, parents and community members from across Canada to co-develop solutions that address systemic barriers  facing Black children and youth. The conference featured presentations from experts across Canada who shared research, lived experiences, and strategies for improving outcomes. 

Keynote speaker emphasizes collaboration

In her keynote address, the Honourable Dr. Rosemary Moodie, MD, a Canadian pediatrician and neonatal physician and independent Senator representing Ontario, spoke on the political determinants that influence the well-being of Black children and youth. As Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, she emphasized the importance of collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and communities to drive lasting change. 

“I believe it is crucial that we work [together] to make differences within our local and provincial communities, within our networks, that are built to share best practices across jurisdictions,” she says. 

She also underscored the broader value of this work, reminding attendees that, “We need to make sure to show how taking a certain step for Black kids is actually a win for the broader coalition of Canadians.”

National research phase builds foundation for lasting impact

The institute and conference represent just part of the project’s broader mandate. Beyond these events, the research team is also conducting the first national survey to investigate the experiences and outcomes of 4,000 Black children and youth, and their parents across the project’s five key areas. If you would like to participate in the ongoing survey on Black child and youth well-being in Canada, please contact transformblacklives@ucalgary.ca.

At the heart of this project is a commitment to developing tangible, long-term solutions that address the structural and systemic inequities faced by Black children and youth, and Black communities in general.

“What we are doing here is important because we are bringing all the different actors — from academics to community partners to media — together to shape better overall outcomes for Black children,” says Jeanne Lehman, collaborator on the research project and founder of Black Canadian Women in Action.

As the project enters its next phase, the potential for impact beyond just Black communities in Canada continues to grow.

The Transforming Black Lives project is a national, transdisciplinary project involving 40 co-investigators from 20 partner institutions including researchers, community partners, and people with lived experiences. Its overarching goal is to build a national research network to improve outcomes for Black children and youth in Canada through co-created knowledge, data, and training.