05/09/2022
Mary Eliza Mahoney born on May 7, 1845 was the first Black person to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the United States. In 1879, Mahoney was the first Black person to graduate from an American school of nursing.
Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Mahoney's parents were freed, formerly enslaved peoples from North Carolina who moved north before the Civil War. Mahoney knew from a young age that she wanted to be a nurse. After receiving her nursing diploma, Mahoney worked for many years as a private care nurse, earning a distinguished reputation. She worked for predominantly white, wealthy families nonetheless she was always concerned about healthcare for black families and communities.
In 1908, Martha Minerva Franklin and Adah B. Thoms and Mahoney founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) in New York City. Mahoney, Franklin, and Thoms worked to improve access to educational and nursing practices and to raise standards of living for Black registered nurses. The NACGN played a foundational role in eliminating racial discrimination in the registered nursing profession. An increase in the acceptance of Black women into notable medical positions, as well as the integration of the NACGN with the American Nurses Association, prompted the dissolution of the organization in 1951.
died on January 4, 1926. She received several honors and awards for her work. She was inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 1976 and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993.
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