PURPOSE:
This paper presents preliminary findings from a national Canadian study exploring barriers faced by African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) led organizations in conducting research and data management to reduce health inequities. The goal is to inform a community-driven framework for ethical data governance that can serve as a tool for equity, accountability and systemic transformation within the practice of midwifery.

DISCUSSION:
Health inequities are pervasive across health systems. In Canada, ACB populations experience significantly poorer health outcomes than white Canadians, despite reporting positive health behaviours. Data plays a central role in shaping midwifery care, maternal healthcare policies, and the design of healthcare systems, yet its misuse, rooted in histories of slavery, colonization, and anti-Black racism, continues to marginalize ACB communities. Anti-Black racism is embedded in how health data is collected, interpreted, and mobilized, especially within the field of midwifery, significantly compromising the health and wellbeing of Black birthing people and midwifery practice. Ethical, anti-racist data practices are essential to addressing health inequities and reshaping midwifery design for ACB communities.

EVIDENCE WHERE RELEVANT:
Approved by the University of Ottawa's Research Ethics Board, this three-year mixed-methods study is grounded in socio-ecological, intersectional, and community-based participatory research frameworks. Data collection includes organizational surveys, interviews with ACB organizational leaders, and a scoping literature review. Quantitative data are analyzed using SPSS and Stata, and qualitative data through Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis. Transforming health systems requires building ACB-led organizational capacity in data governance. Findings will highlight best practices and systemic barriers in race-based data governance. Insights will support the development of a Black-led framework that prioritizes data integrity and health equity, providing a foundation to strengthen culturally responsive care within midwifery practice.

KEY MESSAGE:
Community-led governance of race-based health data is essential for dismantling anti-Black racism and creating health systems that advance equitable and culturally safe midwifery care for ACB communities. Marginalized - racism