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 started in August 1908 in New York City. Its main goal was to support and help Black nurses in the United States. At that time, there was a lot of unfair treatment and separation (segregation) in healthcare. The NACGN wanted to make nursing standards better, offer chances for education, and help Black nurses work in all hospitals and clinics.
Over many years, the NACGN was very important in improving the lives of Black nurses in the U.S. They set up offices, created groups in different areas, and published newsletters. These helped to connect and inform their members. By the mid-1900s, the group had helped thousands of African American nurses join the military. This included serving in the Army and Navy Nurse Corps during World War II. Leaders like Adah B. Thoms and Mabel K. Staupers helped create more opportunities for Black nurses in hospitals and schools.
The NACGN's hard work helped lead to the American Nurses Association becoming open to all nurses. It also helped the larger movement for civil rights in healthcare.
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How the NACGN Started
In 1906, a nurse from Connecticut named Martha Minerva Franklin looked into the problems African American nurses faced. She found that the important American Nurses Association was technically open to Black members. However, many state nursing groups would not let Black nurses join. To be a member of the national group, you first had to be a member of a state group. This meant many skilled African American nurses could not join the national association.
In 1908, fifty-two nurses met in New York City. This group included Martha Minerva Franklin and Adah Belle Samuels Thoms. They decided to start the NACGN. This meeting led to setting up a main office. It was supported by money from the Rosenwald Fund. Miss Belle Davis, who led the National Health Circle for Colored People, also provided office space. Franklin was chosen as the first president at this meeting.
When they left the meeting, they had three main goals. They wanted to "improve the standards for trained nurses." They also aimed to "stop unfair treatment in nursing." Finally, they wanted to "help Black nurses become leaders." To achieve this, the NACGN leaders worked hard for equal rights. They also attended the yearly meetings of the American Nurses Association to raise awareness. In 1912, the NACGN had 125 members. By 1920, this number grew to 500.
Adah Belle Samuels Thoms was the first treasurer of the NACGN. She became the president of the group in 1916. Thoms created a national list of jobs to help Black nurses find work. She also set up the association's first main office. During World War I, Thoms worked to get the American Red Cross to accept African American nurses. This was important because the Red Cross was the only way to join the United States Army Nurse Corps.
According to Jane Delano, who led the Red Cross Nursing service, the Red Cross was willing to accept Black nurses. However, the Surgeon General was not. Nurse Frances Reed Elliot joined the Red Cross in July 1918. But she was not given a job right away. It took the 1918 flu pandemic and a shortage of nurses to finally allow Black nurses into the Army Nurse Corps. In December 1918, eighteen African American nurses were appointed to the United States Army Nurse Corps. They were sent to Camp Grant and Camp Sherman with full rank and pay. The patients were not separated by race. The nurses worked in all areas. However, the African American nurses lived in separate housing from the white nurses.
Carrie E. Bullock was the NACGN president from 1927 to 1930. Bullock worked to improve communication and community among Black nurses. In 1928, she started and edited the NACGN's official newsletter. It was called The National News Bulletin.
Mabel Keaton Staupers became the first paid executive secretary of the NACGN in 1934. Staupers' most important achievement was helping more Black nurses join the U.S. military. In 1946, Staupers left her role. Alma Vessels John was hired to replace her. She led the organization until it closed in 1951.
From 1934 to 1939, Estelle Massey Osborne was the NACGN's president.
World War II and Nursing
At first, the War Department said that no Black nurses would be called to 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 for Black soldiers. These were at Camp Livingston and Fort Bragg. Staupers kept working for more inclusion. She met with Eleanor Roosevelt, white nursing groups, military leaders, and Black 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 calling all qualified nurses to serve, no matter their race. Because of these efforts, about 400 African American nurses served in the Army Nurse Corps. They were sent to Europe, Burma-India, and the South Pacific. Black nurses were also accepted into the Navy Nurse Corps. This was a big step toward ending unfair separation in military medical services.
In 1943, Congresswoman Frances P. Bolton introduced a bill. It aimed to create government money for nursing programs. This was to increase the number of trained nurses during World War II. The Bolton Act (1943) made it illegal to treat people unfairly. It also led to more Black nursing students in the country.
Professional groups slowly started to offer more chances for Black women to join. In 1942, the National League of Nursing Education changed its rules. This allowed people who were not allowed into state groups to join the national group directly. After this national change, several state nursing education groups started accepting Black members. By the end of World War II, only 2.9 percent of nurses were Black. This was about eight thousand registered Black nurses in the United States. Black people made up 10 percent of the population at that time.
Joining the American Nurses Association
During the civil rights movement in the late 1940s and 1950s, more nursing schools started accepting Black students. Estelle Osborne wrote in the Journal of Negro Education that in 1941, 29 U.S. nursing schools had a policy against unfair treatment. By 1949, that number had grown to 354. In 1949, the members of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses voted to join with the American Nurses Association. This vote was unanimous. The NACGN members voted for the NACGN to stop existing in 1951.
Impact and What It Left Behind
By its tenth anniversary in 1944, the NACGN main office helped nearly 11,000 nurses and students. With about 220 groups connected to it, the association was a central place for information and support for Black nurses across the country. The National Medical Association recognized NACGN as a very important partner. They worked together to improve the standing and professionalism of African American medical workers.
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
