To put that in perspective, that was only a couple years after the Emancipation Proclamation, which then-President Abraham Lincoln issued. Rebecca Lee Crumpler defied the odds by becoming the first Black woman doctor of medicine. They also inspired many in the community to go to school to become therapists, nurses, and physicians. These crimes against humanity created a mistrust in government and healthcare providers. The forced sterilization of Black people (as well as Latino, Native and poor people) also created fear.
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For instance, the Tuskegee Experiment, which secretly injected Black patients with Syphilis, still inspires fear and suspicion. Black people also faced severe exploitation which planted seeds of mistrust that continue to sprout today.
This was a necessity as many hospitals and health facilities refused Black patients or offered substandard care when Black people did receive service. Certainly, Black people have often tapped into indigenous practices and wisdom to care for the emotional, spiritual, and physical needs of one another. She tended to Black soldiers and newly freed slaves. Many in the nation may know her as a brave and determined conductor of the Underground Railroad, but Harriet Tubman served as a nurse during the Civil War. She fought for increased access to nursing education and challenged discrimination at a time when the faintest hint of dissent could be deadly. Although Black people frequently served in nursing capacities, Mahoney was the first to obtain a nursing license.
#MARY ELIZA MAHONEY AND REBECCA LEE CRUMPLER PROFESSIONAL#
I also celebrate Black people who made history in healthcare - people like Mary Eliza Mahoney who holds the distinction of being the first Black nurse in history to earn a professional nursing license. I am inspired by the work of freedom fighters such as Diane Nash, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height, Marcus Garvey, Kwame Ture, Fred Shuttlesworth, Medgar Evers and more. I am comforted by the memory of writers such as Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Maya Angelou and more. I think about Harlem Renaissance writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Nella Larsen. It’s a time to learn about the important moments in this nation’s history - moments shaped or influenced by Black Americans and Black people from across the diaspora. “It is an opportunity to honor the luminaries who came before us and celebrate the justice seekers still among us,” said Judith Cutchins, RN. Black History Month is one of my favorite times of the year.
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