split image of mary eliza mahoney on left and hazel johnson-brown on right

Pictured left, Mary Eliza Mahoney.  Pictured right is Hazel Winifred Johnson-Brown.

Feb. 10, 2023

By Hayden Burfitt (UNLV School of Nursing Student Worker - Communications)

Nurses serve all walks of life with compassion, but not all nurses were afforded the same treatment. For decades, many African Americans were discouraged from nursing or discriminated against in the field. Despite this adversity, Black nurses persevered and fought to provide skillful and sympathetic care to those who needed it. For Black History Month, we would like to showcase just a few nurse leaders who contributed to advancing rights for African Americans in nursing and providing opportunities for the new generation of nurses today.

Mary Eliza Mahoney

Born on May 7, 1845 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Mary Eliza Mahoney was the daughter of former slaves who had moved north in hopes of a more tolerant community (Hurst, 2009). Becoming a nurse had been Mahoney’s dream ever since she was a teenager. The complete absence of African Americans in the professional nursing field did not dissuade Mahoney from her vision as she began working for the New England Hospital for Women and Children, a facility that employed only female physicians. Here, she worked for fifteen years as a janitor, cook, and washerwoman before finally becoming a nurse’s aide, gaining considerable experience towards her goal (Spring, 2017).

At 33 years old, Mahoney was admitted to her hospital’s nursing school. Of the 42 students who were accepted into the rigorous program, only three graduated (Spring, 2017). Through her hard work and dedication, Mary Mahoney joined this graduating class, becoming the very first African American to earn a professional nursing license. Her accomplishment went unrecognized by her peers, and the discrimination Mahoney faced led her to become a full-time private nurse, acting as a caretaker for numerous affluent families. Mahoney’s precise skills paired with her warm bedside manner earned her a reputation as an excellent nurse. Using her status, Mahoney was able to join the Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada (now known as the American Nurses Association, or ANA). Mahoney would go on to co-found the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) in 1908 to provide a platform for African American nurses to advocate for equal rights.

Mahoney established opportunities for Black nurses to contribute without opposition and set an example for future aspiring nursing students through her journey to become a nurse. Her legacy as a trailblazer lives on through the Mary Mahoney Award, which is presented to nurses who work to promote and improve integration within the nursing profession. (Spring, 2017). 

Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne

A recipient of the Mary Mahoney Award, Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne is remembered for her efforts to enable Black nurses to succeed in professional nursing (American Nurses Association [ANA], n.d.a), which Mary Mahoney herself had been shunned from. Born in 1901, Osborne initially hoped to work in education, but a violent experience while teaching prompted her to enter nursing instead (African American Registry [AAREG], n.d.). After graduating from the first nursing class of St. Louis City Hospital #2, one of the first hospitals to serve African Americans in St. Louis, Missouri, Osborne became the head nurse of the hospital for three years. Although she was gifted at the bedside, Osborne retained her love of teaching and became a nurse educator at the Lincoln School of Nursing in Kansas City, Missouri. 

Osborne sought to further involve herself in teaching and took on the role of the student once again to pursue higher education. Osborne became the first Black nurse to receive a scholarship from the Rosenwald Fund, a foundation created by philanthropist Julius Rosenwald (noted for donating to public schools and universities) and used the money to afford her tuition (AAREG, n.d.). By 1931, Osborne had earned not only a bachelor’s degree, but a master’s degree in nursing education as well, making her the first African American to receive a nursing graduate degree. Osborne’s achievement opened new paths for her, allowing her to hold professional positions such as an educational director, researcher, and director of nursing, as well as membership within the National Urban League, vice-presidency in the National Council of Negro Women, and recognition by the Chi Eta Phi Sorority and the American Academy of Nursing (ANA, n.d.a).

The most influential positions Osborne held were as the president of the NACGN and consultant to the National Nursing Council for War Service (AAREG, n.d.). Here, she improved national recognition of African American nurses by visiting nursing schools and encouraging them to rewrite discriminatory policies. After convincing 20 nursing schools to begin accepting Black students, Osborne returned to her roots, becoming the first African American instructor at New York University’s Department of Nursing Education and later an associate professor of nursing education at the University of Maryland. Osborne’s dedication to education is honored through the Estelle Massey Osborne Memorial Scholarship; established by the Nurses’ Education Fund, the scholarship is awarded annually to a Black nurse pursuing a master’s degree in nursing (ANA, n.d.a).

Mabel Keaton Staupers

Mabel Keaton Staupers is renowned for her fight to provide Black nurses and patients alike with equal opportunities. Working with fellow activist Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne, Staupers made strides in ending discrimination against Blacks in health care, nursing, and the United States military. Staupers, born in Barbados on February 27, 1890, immigrated to New York City with her family at the age of thirteen (ANA, n.d.b). She graduated with honors from Freedmen’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1917 as a registered nurse.

As a young private-duty nurse, Staupers was exposed to the way prejudice affected Black Americans’ health. Staupers co-founded the Booker T. Washington Sanatorium as a means of providing adequate care to Black citizens (Staten, 2011). The sanatorium served as one of the only facilities in New York to not only accept Black patients, but employ Black physicians as well. Staupers served as the superintendent of the clinic for two years, becoming acquainted with the condition of and care for tuberculosis, particularly within African Americans. With her experience, Staupers became the executive secretary for the Harlem Tuberculosis Committee in 1922 and pushed for tuberculosis awareness and treatment for twelve years, until serving as the first executive director of the NACGN in 1934 (ANA, n.d.b).

As the United States entered World War II in 1941, Black nurses applied to serve, but were unanimously rejected. Staupers took a stand and helped lobby for the displaced nurses, eventually convincing the U.S. Army to allow up to 56 Black nurses to serve simultaneously (National Women’s History Museum, 2019). President Franklin D. Roosevelt later announced plans to draft White women despite Black nurses volunteering to help. Staupers collaborated with multiple nursing groups to protest the decision and garnered national attention (Staten, 2011). First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invited Staupers to the White House to explain the situation, causing the U.S. Army to lift the restrictions against Black applicants by 1945. Without stopping to celebrate, Staupers set her sights on pressuring organizations such as the ANA to follow suit, later securing full membership admissions for Black nurses in 1948 (ANA, n.d.b). Today, the professional opportunities available to African American nurses can be attributed to Staupers and her vision for equality.

Hazel Winifred Johnson-Brown

Brigadier General Hazel Winifred Johnson-Brown was an accomplished nurse in the U.S. Army, with experience in emergency, cardiovascular, medical-surgical, and operating room nursing (Sarnecky, n.d.). Her contributions to nursing education and research may have gone unrealized if not for the work of Mabel Keaton Staupers to remove discriminatory policies from the U.S. military. Johnson-Brown was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania on October 10, 1927 and graduated from the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing at the age of 23. After working in Harlem Hospital’s emergency ward for three years, Johnson-Brown relocated to the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Hospital. Here, she would become the head nurse in just three months while studying for her bachelor’s degree in nursing part-time. 

Johnson-Brown learned of the Army Nurse Corps through her hospital and resolved to join the Army to advance in her nursing career (Sarnecky, n.d.). Her travels would take her across the country and globe to Japan and South Korea. In between tours, Johnson-Brown earned both her bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s degree in nursing education. After spending several years teaching operating room nursing, Johnson-Brown accepted a novel position as the first nurse employed within the Medical Research and Development Command, the entity responsible for the U.S. Army’s medical materiel and development. As her profession shifted towards research, Johnson-Brown began studying for her Ph.D. and developed her dissertation whilst serving as the director and assistant dean of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing. After receiving her doctorate in 1978, Johnson-Brown was nominated to become the 16th chief of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, later reaching the rank of brigadier general; Johnson-Brown is recognized as being both the first Black woman and chief with a doctoral degree in the Department of Defense to hold the title.

Johnson-Brown encouraged nurses to advance their education by supporting the push to substitute specialty training with graduate courses from educational institutions outside the Army (Sarnecky, n.d.). She also arranged for Reserve Officer Training Corps nursing students to receive more benefits by creating a clinical nursing summer camp and offering Army scholarships. Johnson-Brown further facilitated nursing research by creating the Phyllis Verhonick Nursing Research Symposium. Today, the career development for Army nurses is due in part to the foundation laid by Johnson-Brown to involve nurses in both research and management positions.

Additional Resources:

  • Blackpast is a reference center dedicated to providing historical and accurate accounts of African American history. All entries are written by volunteers who are enrolled in or have graduated from an institution of higher education and are evaluated by the website director and Advisory Board.
  • The National Women’s History Museum is a non-profit museum whose mission is to celebrate the contributions of women to society throughout history. Their advisory council ensures the historical accuracy of each entry.
  • African American Registry is a non-profit organization featuring an online database of African American heritage. Their goal is to inspire youth and improve education.
  • "Rebel Nursing Notes" library

References:

African American Registry. (n.d.). Estelle Massey Riddle, Nursing Educator born. https://aaregistry.org/story/nursing-pioneer-estelle-massey-riddle-born/

American Nurses Association. (n.d.a). Hall of Fame Inductees 1984. http://www.nursingworld.org/ana/about-ana/history/hall-of-fame/1984-1986-inductees/

American Nurses Association. (n.d.b). Hall of Fame Inductees 1998. http://www.nursingworld.org/ana/about-ana/history/hall-of-fame/1996-1998-inductees/

Hurst, R. (2009, March 28). Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845-1926). Blackpast. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mahoney-mary-eliza-1845-1926/

National Women’s History Museum. (2019, July 8). African American Nurses in World War II. https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/african-american-nurses-world-war-ii

Sarnecky, M. T. (n.d.). Brig. Gen. Hazel Johnson Brown 16th Chief, Army Nurse Corps. Army Women’s Foundation. http://www.awfdn.org/trailblazers/brig-gen-hazel-johnson-brown/

Spring, K. (2017). Mary Eliza Mahoney. National Women’s History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mahoney

Staten, C. (2011, March 31). Mabel Keaton Staupers (1890-1989). Blackpast. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/staupers-mabel-keaton-1890-1989/

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