National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses facts for kids
The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) was a special group for African American nurses. It was started in 1908. This organization worked hard to fight against unfair treatment and to help Black nurses get the recognition and jobs they deserved.
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Starting a New Group
In 1906, a nurse named Martha Minerva Franklin from Connecticut wanted to understand the problems African American nurses faced. She found that while the main nursing group, the American Nurses Association (ANA), seemed open to Black members, many state nursing groups would not let them join. Since you needed to be part of a state group to join the ANA, many skilled African American nurses were left out.
Because of this, in 1908, fifty-two nurses, including Martha Minerva Franklin and Adah Belle Samuels Thoms, met in New York City. They decided to create their own organization, the NACGN. Martha Minerva Franklin was chosen as the first president.
Their main goals were clear: to improve nursing standards, stop unfair treatment in nursing, and help Black nurses become leaders. They worked towards these goals by fighting for equal rights and attending ANA conferences to raise awareness. By 1912, the NACGN had 125 members. This number grew to 500 by 1920.
Adah Belle Samuels Thoms was the first treasurer of the NACGN. She later became president in 1916. She created a national list of jobs to help Black nurses find work. She also set up the group's first main office. During World War I, Thoms pushed for the American Red Cross to accept African American nurses. This was very important because the Red Cross was the only way to join the United States Army Nurse Corps. At first, the Army's top doctor did not want Black nurses. But then, the 1918 flu pandemic caused a big shortage of nurses. This led to the Army Nurse Corps finally accepting Black nurses. In December 1918, eighteen African American nurses joined the Army Nurse Corps. They worked at Camp Grant and Camp Sherman with full rank and pay. Even though they cared for all patients, Black nurses were housed separately from white nurses.
Carrie E. Bullock was the NACGN president from 1927 to 1930. She worked to improve communication among Black nurses. In 1928, she started and edited the NACGN's official newsletter, The National News Bulletin.
Mabel Keaton Staupers became the first paid executive secretary of the NACGN in 1934. Her biggest achievement was helping to fully integrate nurses in the U.S. military. In 1946, Staupers left her role, and Alma Vessels John took over. She led the organization until it joined with another group in 1951.
Estelle Massey Osborne was the NACGN's president from 1934 to 1939.
Nurses in World War II
At the start of World War II, the War Department said no Black nurses would serve in the United States Army Nurse Corps. Staupers and other activists fought for the rights of Black nurses. They served on the NACGN Special Defense Committee. In January 1941, the Army announced that 56 Black nurses could work at military bases like Camp Livingston and Fort Bragg. Staupers kept pushing for more inclusion. She met with Eleanor Roosevelt, white nursing groups, military leaders, and other supporters. By 1943, the number of Black nurses in the armed forces grew from 56 to 160. By the end of the war, the War Department was taking all qualified nurses, no matter their race.
In 1943, Congresswoman Frances P. Bolton introduced a bill to help nursing programs. This was to increase the number of trained nurses during World War II. The Bolton Act (1943) made it illegal to discriminate. This led to more Black nursing students across the country.
Other professional groups also slowly started to accept Black women. In 1942, the National League of Nursing Education changed its rules. This allowed people who were not accepted by state groups to join the national group directly. After this national change, several state Leagues of Nursing Education began to accept Black members. By the end of World War II, about 2.9 percent of nurses were Black. This was about eight thousand registered Black nurses in the United States.
Joining the American Nurses Association
During the civil rights movement in the late 1940s and 1950s, more nursing schools began to accept Black students. Estelle Osborne wrote in the Journal of Negro Education that in 1941, 29 U.S. nursing schools had a policy against discrimination. By 1949, this number had jumped to 354. In 1949, the members of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses voted to join with the American Nurses Association. The NACGN members then voted for their organization to end in 1951, as its goals were being met by the larger, integrated ANA.
Important Members
- Carrie E. Bullock
- Frances Reed Elliot
- Martha Minerva Franklin
- Hulda Margaret Lyttle
- Mary Eliza Mahoney
- Petra Pinn
- Mabel Keaton Staupers
- Adah Belle Samuels Thoms
- Laura Holloway Yergan
See also
