[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 22 (Thursday, February 26, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2004

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, each February our Nation 
celebrates Black History Month. African-Americans have a rich and deep 
history, and many individuals should be recognized. This year marks the 
50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision of Brown versus 
the Board of Education, and it is my pleasure to speak about a very 
special woman who blazed a trail in completing her education.
  While the Supreme Court decision allowed for equal access and 
opportunity to education for African-Americans, long before this 
decision was handed down, Mary Eliza Mahoney, was the first African-
American registered nurse, graduating from the New England Hospital for 
Women and Children Training School for Nurses in 1879.
  Mary Eliza Mahoney was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1845. At 
the age of 33, Ms. Mahoney was admitted as a student into the 
hospital's nursing program, which had been established by Dr. Marie 
Zakrewska, notably, one of the first women doctors in the United 
States.
  Ms. Mahoney completed a strenuous and rigorous 16-month program, 
becoming one of only three people to actually complete the program.
  In 1896, Mr. Speaker, Ms. Mahoney became one of the first African-
American members of the American Nurses Association (ANA). In 1908, she 
co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, an 
organization working toward complete integration of Black Nurses in the 
ANA. Additionally, Mahoney participated in the campaign for woman 
suffrage and in 1921, was one of the first women in line to vote after 
the ratification of the nineteenth amendment.
  Ms. Mahoney spent her life caring for the sick until her death on 
January 4, 1926. In 1993, Ms. Mahoney was inducted into the Women's 
Hall of Fame.
  The indomitable courage of this African-American woman has set an 
example for equality, dignity and respect for African-Americans in 
nursing, as well as women's rights. I urge all of my colleagues to 
reflect on all the great African-American individuals who helped shape 
this great Nation during Black History Month.

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