First operation performed by the black physicians and nurses of Meharry/Hubbard hospital, 1910

First operation performed by the black physicians and nurses of Meharry/Hubbard hospital, 1910

The history of African-American nurses is not just a critical piece of women’s history, it’s an essential part of the story of how black professionals and black communities survived and thrived in post-slavery America.

Nursing — for so many black women — was far more than a job; it was a calling to address the unmet need for care in our communities and, in many cases, take an active role our decades long battle for equal treatment.

The new book Lifetimes of Dedication and Service: Meharry Medical College Nursing Graduates shares inspiring parts of this story through the lives  of 150 of the school’s graduates from 1906 to 1962.