[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 22 (Wednesday, March 2, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MS. CLARA JENKINS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of an extraordinary 
member of my community, Clara Jenkins. In the 1950s, Clara helped 
advance the Civil Rights movement in Georgia by breaking down color 
barriers at a local hospital.
  On August 20, 1951, Clara was hired as the first black nurse at 
Kennestone Hospital in Cobb County. Now, 1951 was not an easy time to 
be a black nurse among all-white colleagues. The Brown v. Board of 
Education ruling, that mandated separate but equal was inherently 
unequal, was still 3 years away. In 1951, Kennestone Hospital was 
segregated by floor and ward. Black patients and white patients 
received their care separately and in unequal surroundings.
  But Clara did not let segregation deter her goal of providing care 
for the sick and the needy. Through her determination and talent, she 
proved to her colleagues that skill, not skin color, was what mattered 
most.
  Despite having earned a nursing degree right here in Washington, 
D.C., Clara was not initially allowed to work with white patients. 
However, over time, doctors and nurses noticed her skill, especially 
her ability to insert IVs into patients with thin or hard-to-find 
veins. Clara said her work on parents with darker skin made her adept 
at finding veins by touch, not sight, a skill the other nurses lacked. 
Increasingly, white doctors and nurses began asking for Clara's help.
  After the 1954 Brown versus Board ruling desegregated Kennestone 
Hospital, Clara was assigned to several special hospital units. She was 
asked to head up Kennestone's very first IV team, and later became the 
only black nurse on the hospital's first coronary team. These were 
amazing feats for a woman who only a few years earlier had not been 
allowed to even care for white patients.
  As a physician, I had the privilege of working with Clara at 
Kennestone Hospital. And let me tell you, she is just as respected and 
beloved now as she was then. In fact, she was one of my favorite 
nurses. And working with her on the floor, and later when she was a 
supervisor, always gave me confidence in her ability, her compassion, 
and her leadership.
  I am inspired by Clara Jenkins' ability to prove herself in the face 
of segregation and discrimination. Clara had a sense of determination 
and courage that should serve as an inspiration for us all. By asking 
others to judge her based on skill, not race, she helped break down 
color barriers for black professionals in Cobb County.
  Clara also opened doors for other black nurses. She was once offered 
a position as head pediatric nurse at Kennestone. But when she turned 
down the job, another black nurse was selected to head that unit. She 
brought a greater equality to our hospital.
  Clara Jenkins is a skilled nurse and an important member of the Cobb 
community. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me in honoring her legacy.

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