Mary Eliza Mahoney: First Black Nurse in America: 1845-1926

Mary Eliza Mahoney

The recognition of nurses this past week reminded me that my Eye On History T-shirt series that I created in the early 1980’s included a shirt in tribute to Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first African American licensed nurse in America. The goal of the Eye On History t-shirts was to recognize African Americans of achievement in all levels of society. The artwork for the shirts was done by the late well-known artist William Y. Cooper. These t shirts were very popular and they were featured in Essence Magazine. They included such people as Dr. Mar tin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Julian Bond, and so many others. The Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first shirt that I did in honor of nurses.

Mary Eliza Mahoney was born in 1845 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was born to freed slaves. She al ways wanted to be a nurse since the early years when she was a teenager. Later, she attended the Phillips School in Boston. In 1855, it became one of the first integrated schools in the country. After graduation Mary began working at the New England Hospital for Women and Children. The hospital had an all-women staff of physicians. Mary worked here for 15 years in a variety of roles that included being a janitor, cook, and washer woman. She also worked as a nurse’s aide.

The New England Hospital was one of the first nursing schools in the U.S. It was an intensive program of 42 students who entered the program. Only four completed it in 1879. Mary was one of the women who finished it. This made her the first African American in the country to earn a professional nursing license. Due to discrimination she entered private nursing care. Her patients were wealthy white families. Mary was known for her patience and caring manner. In 1896, she joined the Nurses Association Alumnae of the U.S. and Canada. It consisted of mostly white women and Mary was not always welcomed. However, she wanted to advocate for the equality of African American nurses. In 1908, she co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses. She later became the director of the Howard Orphanage Asylum for Black children in Kings Park, Long Island in New York City.

Mary retired after 40 years. She championed the rights of women and became the first woman to register to vote in Boston. She battled cancer and lived until the age of 80. Mary died on January 4, 1926. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, Massachusetts. A Me morial Monument was erected in her honor at her gravesite in 1973. She has received numerous awards. The Mary Eliza Mahoney Award was established for nurses. Mary was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of fame in Seneca Falls, New York in 1993.

This Columnist would like to recognize and thank all of the nurses who have served in our hospitals and medical facilities. We thank you and we appreciate your great service!!

References for this article are from Dr. Kelly Spring, “Mary Mahoney,” from the National Women’s History Museum, 2017; www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/bio graphical/mary-mahoney.