The nursing literature is rich with information on the history of Black nurses and their struggle for equality in the profession. We invite you to learn their story and to visit some web sites that pay tribute to their hard work and courage. For more information on nursing history, you may want to visit the American Association for the History of Nursing or Dianne Brownson's nursing history links.
This guide was originally created by Sharon Whitfield, Librarian at CMSRU Medical Library.
"African American nurses significant in state's nursing history." Michigan Nurse. 67(2):6-7, 1994.
Booth J. "Mississippi's granny midwives: pre and post civil wars." Mississippi RN. 55(6):20-2, 1993.
Brewman, MP. "The Negro Nurse." The Nation. 175(8):160, 1952.
Buhler-Wilkerson K. "Caring in its "proper place": race and benevolence in Charleston, SC, 1813-1930." Nursing Research. 41(1):14-20, 1992.
Campinha-Bacote J. "The Black nurses' struggle toward equality: an historical account of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses." Journal of National Black Nurses Association. 2(2):15-25, 1988.
Carnegie ME. "Black nurses in the United States: 1879-1992." Journal of National Black Nurses Association. 6(1):13-8, 1992.
Carnegie ME. "Blacks in nursing: an update." American Nurse. 22(2):6, 1990.
Carnegie ME. The path we tread : blacks in nursing worldwide, 1854-1994. 3rd ed. New York: National League for Nursing Press, 1995.
Davis AT. Early Black American leaders in nursing: architects for integration and equality. (National League for Nursing Series) Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Pub, 1999.
Duffin C. "Comfort and joy." Nursing Standard. 23(4):19-21, 2008.
Elmore JA. "Black nurses: their service and their struggle." American Journal of Nursing. 76(3):435-7, 1976.
Flynn K. "Beyond the glass wall: Black Canadian nurses, 1940-1970." Nursing History Review. 17:129-52, 2009.
Fondiller SH. "From the archives: Pioneers in the forefront of integration." Nursing & Health Care Perspectives. 22(2):64-66, 2001.
George VD, Bradford DM, and Battle A. "Yesterday, today, & tomorrow: transitioning through time with the Cleveland Council of Black Nurses." Nursing & Health Care Perspectives, 21(5):219-27, 2000.
Goldstein, RL. "Negro Nurses in Hospitals." American Journal of Nursing. 60(2):215-217, 1960.
Holt R. "Brown Women in White." Negro Digest. 3(2):9-13, 1944.
House K. "Nurses of color -- a legacy of healing." Nursing Spectrum (Greater Chicago/NE Illinois & NW Indiana Edition). 10(24):10, 1997 & Washington, Dc/Baltimore Metro Edition). 7(17):12-4, 1997.
Inman K. "Care in a cold climate." Nursing Times. 94(16):18-9, 1998.
Jones, E. "The Negro Woman in the Nursing Profession." The Messenger. 5(7):764-765, 1923.
Maling BL. Black Southern Nursing Care Providers in Virginia During the American Civil War, 1861-1865. University of Virginia, 2009; Ph.D.
Mosley MOP. "Beginning at the beginning: a history of the professionalization of black nurses in America, 1908-1951." Journal of Cultural Diversity. 2(4):101-9, 1995.
Mosley MOP. "Despite all odds: a three-part history of the professionalization of Black nurses through two professional nursing organizations, 1908-1955." Journal of National Black Nurses Association. 7(2):10-20, 1995.
Mosley MOP. "Great black nurses series: Estelle Massey Riddle Osborne." ABNF Journal. 13(5):114-7, 2002.
Mosley MOP. "A new beginning: the story of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, 1908-1951" Journal of National Black Nurses Association. 8(1):20-32, 1996.
Mosley MOP. "Satisfied to carry the bag: three black community health nurses' contributions to health care reform, 1900-1937." Nursing History Review. 4:65-82, 1996.
"The Negro Nurse." Opportunity. 15(11):325, 1937.
Pollitt P and Reese CN. "The North Carolina Association of Colored Graduate Nurses: a proud heritage." ABNF Journal. 8(2):32-4, 1997.
Pollitt P and Reese CN. "St. Agnes School of Nursing: a legacy of hope." ABNF Journal, 11(1):3-6, 2000.
Smith SL. "White nurses, black midwives, and public health in Mississippi, 1920-1950." Nursing History Review. 2:29-49, 1994.
Staupers, MK. "The Negro Nurse." Opportunity. 20(11):pp.332-333,352, 1942.
Staupers, MK. "The Negro Nurse in America." Opportunity. 15(11):339-341, 1937.
Staupers, MK. No Time for Prejudice: A Story of the Integration of Negroes in Nursing in the United States. New York: MacMillan, 1961.
Torsch VL. "Oklahoma's pioneer black nurses." Oklahoma Nurse. 37(4):4, 1992.
Tucker-Allen S. "The founding of the Association of Black Nursing Faculty: my memories of the first five years." ABNF Journal. 8(4):73-80, 1997.
Washington BT. "Looking through the years: 1910. Training colored nurses at Tuskegee." American Journal of Nursing, December 1910, 11:3 pp. 167-171 reprinted by permission. Creative Nursing: a Journal of Values, Issues, Experience & Collaboration. 3(1):16, 1997.
Washington LC. "Preserving the History of Black Nurses." Minority Nurse. 2012 Spring: 28-31.
Wilkins, Roy. "Black Women in White." The Negro Digest. 1(6):61-63, 1943.
Worth P. "Imagining in time. The evolution of diversity in nursing and nurse anesthesia." AANA Journal. 72(2):101-105, 2004.
Young J. "Revisiting the 1925 Johns Report on African-American Nurses." Nursing History Review. 13:77-99, 2005.