MARY MAHONEY, R.N. (1845-1926) THE UNITED STATES' FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN REGISTERED NURSE

Mary Eliza Mahoney, R.N.
First Black Nurse
1845-1926

Mary Mahoney was the first African-American woman to complete the course of professional study in nursing.

Mahoney was born in Boston in 1845. She was employed as a cook and cleaner at the New England Hospital for Women and Children, but she had a greater vision for herself and was determined to move beyond domestic work. In 1878, she applied and was accepted to the hospital's nursing school

She graduated from the rigorous program in 1879, one of only a handful of students from the original class to graduate that year. Her graduation marked a new era for the education of African-American nurses in Boston. From that time on, Black students were accepted into the program as long as they were able to meet its requirements. (Source: http://www.bridgew.edu/HOBA/Mahoney.cfm)

Mahoney recognized the need for African-American nurses to combine forces in order to improve their status in the profession. In 1908, she co-founded with Adah B. Thoms the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN), and was the speaker for the organization's first annual convention in 1909. The NACGN merged with the American Nurses Association (ANA) in 1951.

(Note that the archival records of the NACGN are held at the New York Public Library. Click here to learn more.)

In 1921, helped to bring about the reception of Ms. Thoms and a group of African-American nurses to the White House during the NACGN Convention in Washington, D.C., where they met President and Mrs. Warren G. Harding. (Thoms had worked with Jane Arminda Delano, Chairman of the American Red Cross Nursing Service, to convince the Surgeon General to enroll black nurses in the Army Nurse Corps. Though African-American nurses enrolled in July 1918, it wasn't until after the war was over that 18African-American nurses were appointed to the Army Nurse Corps.)

From 1911 to 1912 Mahoney served as supervisor of the Howard Orphan Asylum for Black Children in Kings Park, Long Island. After her return to Boston, she is reputed to have been one of the first women in that city to register to vote after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.

Ten years after her death in 1926, the NACGN honoured her memory by establishing the Mary Mahoney Medal, an award to a member for distinguished service to the profession.

Mahoney was named to the Nursing Hall of Fame in 1976 and to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.


LEARN MORE (click link to title below)
Davis, Althea T. Early Black American Leaders in Nursing: Architects for Integration and Equality

MAHALIA JACKSON, THE QUEEN OF GOSPEL SONG

No one could make a joyful noise to the Lord like Ms. Jackson.

Most people can recall the names of great jazz and blues singers, but gospel music, because it has less commercial appeal, has fewer widely-known "stars." The name most closely associated with gospel in the minds of many is that of Mahalia Jackson, the undisputed "Queen of Gospel."

My father was a fan from years and years ago, when Ms. Jackson had a Sunday-evening television show in Chicago. This was around 1954. He told me that if he went out with friends on a Sunday night, he would tell them that he had to be near a television between 7-8 p.m. so he wouldn't miss Mahalia Jackson.

Ms. Jackson was born in New Orleans in 1911 and moved to Chicago at the age of sixteen, where she joined the Greater Salem Baptist Church on Chicago's South Side and eventually began touring with a gospel quintet. She had an outstandingly beautiful contralto voice. She made her first recordings as a soloist in the mid-1930s for Decca and Apollo records, and eventually signed with Columbia records.

There is an interesting piece of information about one of the South Side Chicago churches where Ms. Jackson sang--the Pilgrim Baptist Church--which flourished under the leadership of Dr. Thomas Dorsey, best known for his hymn "Precious Lord."

She could have had enormous success--and greater wealth--singing blues and jazz. These opportunities were offered to her, but she never wanted to sing any type of music other than gospel. (My father also emphasized this point during our discussion about her; he was well aware that she could have been a great blues singer, but that she never wanted to depart from the singing of gospel music.)

Ms. Jackson explained her deep commitment to gospel music this way: "When you sing gospel you have a feeling there is a cure for what's wrong. But when you are through with the blues, you've got nothing to rest on." (Source: http://www.southernmusic.net/mahaliajackson.htm)

Both her own music and that of Dr. Dorsey were, not surprisingly, significantly influenced by the vocal artistry of ragtime, jazz, and blues artists such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. (Dr. Dorsey was himself originally a blues musician.)

Throughout the 1950s, Ms. Jackson appeared regularly on radio and television, and in concert halls around the world. Her European concert appearances were packed. She sang at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival at an all-gospel program she herself requested. In 1954, she began hosting her own Sunday night radio show for CBS.

She performed on the Ed Sullivan show in 1956, from which she introduced gospel music into America's mainstream.

Gospel concerts are still alive and well, as my parents discovered last night during their attendance in Miami Beach last night of a concert featuring Kurt Carr accompanied by the Miami Mass Choir and the Voices of Christian Fellowship Choir. A joyful noise indeed. They report that it was splendid.
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Now everyone do yourselves a favor and take a break when you can to listen to and watch this historic video of Ms. Jackson:

According to the note attached to this video, Ms. Jackson sang this just prior to the March on Washington before Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l49N8U3d0Bw

Here is a German-produced video of Ms. Jackson singing at the rally:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TALcOreZi0A&NR=1

Here is Ms. Jackson singing "Didn't It Rain," accompanied by a choir.

BLACK GOSPEL MUSIC RESTORATION PROJECT

This is an especially interesting and important project with relevance for music, theatre, history, and the social sciences.

Black Gospel Music Restoration Project at Baylor University:
http://www.baylor.edu/lib/electrres/index.php?id=44987
This is an ongoing project that seeks to acquire, preserve and catalog rare and seldom-heard 78s, 45s and LPs dating from 1945-1970. The project's eventual goal is the creation of a digital audio archive. The site currently offers limited streaming material. Click on "browse a portion of the collection," then click on a vinyl disc thumbnail. Choose side one or side two, and then click on "access this item" from the top center of the page. The project's director, Robert Darden, was interviewed on the NPR program Fresh Air on December 20, 2007. Click here to listen to this interview and to learn more about how materials for this unique and important collection are being acquired.

MORE DATABASE TRIALS

Folks, we have still more great database trials for you.

1. APA Books E-Collections: Scholarly and professional books published by the American Psychological Association;

2. Image Quest: High-quality images from over 40 of the best collections in the world, fully cleared for academic use.

Please visit the library "trials" page to explore and enjoy

DR. VIVIEN THOMAS-SURGICAL PIONEER

Born in New Iberia, Louisiana, Vivien Thomas was an aspiring medical student when the stock market crash wiped out his education savings. The lack of funding forced him to drop out of college, and in the absence of other types of work during the difficult time, he took a job sweeping floors at Vanderbilt University. There, Dr. Alfred Blalock, took notice of him and hired him to work as a laboratory, and eventually, surgical assistant. Blalock was in charge of the surgical research laboratory, and was working to research and develop methhods of treating hemorrhagic and traumatic shock.

Thomas very rapidly learned to perform surgery and physiologic studies, and to carry out chemical determinations. He developed into a highly skilled technician capable of conducting complicated experimental cardiac operations and devising new surgical methdods completely unassisted. He remained Blalock's principal technician and laboratory chief for the rest of Blalock's career. When Blalock was offered a pretigious position at the then-segregated Johns Hopkins University in 1941, he accepted on the condition that Thomas accompany him.

In 1976, Thomas was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Johns Hopkins University and was made a member of the medical school faculty in recognition of his contributions to the practice of cardiovascular surgery and to the education of young surgeons. Today, his portrait hangs in the lobby of the Blalock Building on The Johns Hopkins Hospital campus.

Dr. Levi Watkin, of Johns Hopkins University, described Thomas as, "the most un-talked about, unappreciated, unknown giant in the African American community. What he helped facilitate impacted people all over the world." Recently, Vivien Thomas' story has been the inspiration for the PBS documentary, "Partners of The Heart" and the HBO film, "Something The Lord Made."

You can read more about Dr. Vivien Thomas here and here.

ELLA FITZGERALD-THE FIRST LADY OF SONG

My family is on a first-name basis with Ella Fitzgerald. Not because we knew or even met her, but because my father has always been in the habit of referring to her--with great reverence--simply as "Ella." When he says, "I've been listening to Ella," or "I watched a documentary about Ella," we know exactly what he's talking about. Because there is only one Ella. Her gifts were completely unique. There was no one like her.

When my nephew came home from school one day singing "A-Tisket A-Tasket," my brother naturally asked him where he had heard it. He told my brother that his music teacher had played the song, sung by Ella Fitzgerald, in that day's music class. My brother phoned my father immediately to tell him the news--and this sort of thing definitely qualifies as news in my
family--about the wonderful music teacher and the latest addition to the Gold family Ella fan club.

A 2007 NPR segment describes the career and gifts of the great Ella. And in honor of Jazz Appreciation Month in 2008, NPR made available for streaming five Ella classics, including "Something's Gotta Give" and "It Don't Mean a Thing." Make your day by taking some time to listen.