Wanda Thomas Bernard

Professor Emeritus at School of Social Work, Dalhousie University

Dr. Thomas Bernard is a Canadian senator. She was formerly a social worker and educator from East Preston, Nova Scotia. Dr. Thomas Bernard is the first Black Canadian to have an academic tenure position and become a full professor at Dalhousie University, where her research focuses on anti-oppression and diversity. She Bernard was one of the founding members of the Association of Black Social Workers. In 2005, she was appointed to the Order of Canada for her work addressing racism and diversity in the field of social work, and in 2014, she was awarded the Order of Nova Scotia. On October 27, 2016, Dr. Thomas Bernard was named to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to sit as an independent. At the time of her appointment, she was the chair of the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. She is the first African Nova Scotian woman to serve in the Senate Chamber

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  • Doing Anti-Oppressive Social Work, 4th ed.

    Rethinking Theory and Practice

    Edited by Donna Baines, Natalie Clark and Bindi Bennett  Foreword by Raven Sinclair (Ótiskewápíwskew)     November 2022

    This book continues the strong tradition of three editions but adds new issues and cutting-edge critical reflection of anti-oppressive practice.

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  • Africentric Social Work

    Edited by Delores V.  Mullings, Jennifer Clarke, Wanda Thomas Bernard, David Este and Sulaimon Giwa     May 2021

    The first of its kind in Canada, this book provides an invaluable resource for students and practitioners alike by presenting a dynamic approach to African-centred service provision that is ethical and culturally relevant.

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  • Race and Well-Being

    The Lives, Hopes and Activism of African Canadians

    By Akua Benjamin, David Este, Carl James, Bethan Lloyd, Wanda Thomas Bernard and Tana Turner     March 2010

    Through in-depth qualitative and quantitative research with African Canadians in three Canadian cities – Calgary, Toronto and Halifax – this book explores how experiences of racism, combined with other social and economic factors, affect the health and well-being of African Canadians. With a special interest in how racial stereotyping impacts Black men and boys, this book shares stories of racism and violence and explores how experiences and interpretations of, and reactions to, racism differ across a range of social and economic variables. Rejecting the notion that Black communities are homogeneous, this book gives a detailed examination of three distinct communities: Caribbean, immigrant African and Canadian Black. The authors also explore how individuals, families and communities can better understand and challenge racism.

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