Redefining Strength: Challenging the Strong Black Woman Stereotype in Nursing Education and Leadership.

Introduction: The Strong Black Woman (SBW) schema, deeply embedded in sociocultural and historical narratives, portrays Black women as inherently resilient, self-sacrificing, and emotionally restrained. While it can serve as a source of pride and survival, the schema often imposes psychological, emotional, and physical burdens-particularly in academic nursing, where systemic inequities intersect with racialized and gendered expectations. This paper examines how the SBW schema operates in nursing education and leadership and advocates for a redefinition of strength that embraces vulnerability, wellness, and collective care.

Methods: This narrative review synthesizes research on the SBW schema with a focus on its historical origins, cultural significance, and psychological impacts. Peer-reviewed publications in English from 2000 to 2024 were identified through searches in CINAHL, PubMed, ERIC, EBSCO, and Google Scholar using terms related to the SBW schema and nursing contexts. Although few nursing-specific studies exist, key articles by Jefferies, and Parks and Hayman informed the discussion. Additional insights were drawn from psychology, sociology, public health, and Black feminist theory to contextualize its implications for nursing education and leadership.

Results: The schema contributes to emotional suppression, delayed help-seeking, and heightened risk of burnout. In predominantly white institutions, Black women in nursing experience amplified pressures to overperform, serve as cultural representatives, and navigate professional isolation. These expectations are reinforced by intergenerational and media-driven narratives. While the schema can foster pride and perseverance, its glorification masks its long-term mental health consequences. Emerging literature calls for a paradigm shift that integrates emotional authenticity and systemic support into nursing leadership and education.

Conclusion: Redefining strength in nursing requires dismantling individualistic ideals of resilience and affirming vulnerability as a culturally grounded act of care and resistance. Structural change must include equity-focused policies, antiracist leadership development, and emotionally safe environments that validate the full humanity of Black women in academic nursing.