Social Worker, Nurse, and founder of the Phillis Wheatley Association — Jane Edna Hunter was born in Pendleton, South Carolina and grew up in a tenant house on the Woodburn Plantation. She attended Ferguson and Williams Academy in Abbeville, South Carolina. In order to support herself after the passing of her father at 10 years old, Jane completed domestic work for…

Public Health Nurse, Diplomat, and General-Governor of Barbados — Ruth Nita Barrow was born in Barbados to Reverend Reginald Grant Barrow and Ruth Alberta Barrow in 1916. Barrow grew up in a family of activist and politically active individuals. She attended St. Michael’s Girls’ School and later enrolled as a nursing student at Barbados General Hospital. she went on…

Nursing Trailblazer and first African American admitted to the University of Maryland School of Nursing — Esther McCready was born on January 10, 1931 to John and Elizabeth McCready in Baltimore, Maryland. As a child, McCready knew she wanted to be a nurse. She worked as a nurses’ aid at Sinai Hospital in East Baltimore while in high school in the maternity ward. …

First African American Chief Nurse in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps — Della Hayden Raney Jackson was born in Suffolk, Virginia on January 10 as the 4th of 12 children. She attended Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina graduating in 1937. Lincoln was one of the earliest Black nurse training programs to provide educational and employment opportunities for Black…

What We Have Learned Along the Way — For those joining us for the first time — welcome! To those who’ve joined us since day one, thank you for your commitment to diversifying our nursing history. May this overview serve as a helpful guide and provide context to the forthcoming stories of Black nurses. Most importantly, may this…

Nurse Leader, Entrepreneur, & CEO — Charlene Platon was born in Los Angeles, California, at the hospital where her mother currently works as an intensive care unit registered nurse. As an individual born into a family of nurses, the hospital and healthcare environment were a familiar setting; Charlene would frequently visit her mother during her hospital…

Nurse Educator and Researcher — Dr. Misty Wilkie grew up on multiple reservations in North and South Dakota and Minnesota. She earned her Associate Degree in Nursing in 1997 (Hibbing Community College), Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2001 (Bemidji State University), and her Master of Science in Nursing in 2005 (University of North Dakota)…

Lakota Elder, Nurse Leader, and World War II Veteran — Marcella LeBeau (Wigmuke Waste’ Win /Pretty Rainbow Woman) was born on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in Promise, South Dakota in 1919. Marcella was one of five children born to Florence Four Bear Ryan, who was from the Two Kettles subtribe of the Lakota people, and Joseph M. Ryan, an…

Indigenous Nurses in World War I — In World War I, 14 Indigenous nurses served in the Army Medical Department’s Nurse Corps. Among these nurses were Cora Elm and Charlotte Edith Anderson. They both served primarily in the Western Front in France caring for American, French, British, and Canadian ally soldiers. Cora Elm Cora Elm, a member of the…