Black History Month: Notable Black Nurses Throughout History

<p>
  As part of our Black History Month celebration at Cross Country Healthcare, we
  wanted to recognize the importance of Black trailblazers in nursing. Here is a
  brief look at just a few of them; however, we encourage you to check out the
  many other
  <a
    href="https://www.chamberlain.edu/blog/a-celebration-of-10-famous-black-nurses-in-history"
    target="_blank"
    >notable Black nurses in history</a
  >.
</p>
<h2>Harriet Tubman 1820-1913</h2>
<p>
  Harriet Tubman is an icon of courage thanks to her efforts in leading hundreds
  of enslaved people to freedom, first as a “conductor” on the Underground
  Railroad and then later as a volunteer for the Union Army during the Civil
  War. She is also renowned for her political, social justice and Suffragist
  activism. What many people don’t know, however, is that Harriet Tubman was
  also a nurse. Her extensive knowledge of natural and herbal remedies was
  crucial to helping treat Civil War soldiers suffering from injuries and
  disease on the battlefield. Near the end of her life, she helped establish the
  Harriet Tubman Home for the Elderly to help care for her aging parents and
  eventually became a resident herself until she died.
  <a
    href="https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/harriet-tubman"
    target="_blank"
    >Learn more about Harriet Tubman’s life and accomplishments</a
  >.
</p>
<h2>Hazel Johnson-Brown, 1927-2011</h2>
<p>
  Although she knew from age 12 that she wanted to become a nurse, she was
  denied admission into her hometown’s Chester School of Nursing in Pennsylvania
  for being Black. This led her to the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing in New
  York City, where she earned her first nursing degree and worked for several
  years in the hospital’s emergency department. Later, she returned to
  Pennsylvania to work at the Philadelphia VA Hospital. It was there where she
  became interested in pursuing a nursing career in the military. She went on to
  become the first Black female general in the United States Army and the first
  Black chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps.
  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqKYjoVnRs8" target="_blank"
    >Listen to Hazel Johnson-Brown look back on beginning her</a
  >
  career in healthcare.
</p>
<h2>Betty Smith Williams, 1929-present</h2>
<p>
  Betty Smith Williams has achieved many firsts in her lifetime, including
  becoming the first Black nursing student to earn a doctorate from the Frances
  Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). She
  later became the first Black nurse hired as faculty at a higher education
  institution in California, and her career included nurse educator positions at
  Mount Saint Mary’s College, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA),
  California State University Long Beach, University of Colorado Health Sciences
  Center and American University. Additionally, she was a co-founder and charter
  member of the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) and co-founded the
  National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations (NCEMNA).
  <a
    href="https://case.edu/think/fall2016/nurses-of-color.html#.YgLUAu7MJ0s"
    target="_blank"
    >Read about her efforts to unite Black nurses nationally in this short
    profile</a
  >.
</p>


Notable Black Nurses Throughout History

Related Articles

Women's History Month

Notable Black Nurses Throughout History

Cross Country Celebrates Black History Month

Cross Country Healthcare Earns 2021 “Great Place To Work” Certification™

Follow Us

Hot Opportunities