[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 13, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING VIRGINIA ALLEN AND THE BLACK ANGELS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 13, 2024

  Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following 
Proclamation recognizing Virginia Allen and the Black Angels.
  Whereas: Virginia Allen arrived to Staten Island, New York at the age 
of 16 to work as a nurse at Staten Island Sea View Hospital in 1947.
  Whereas: Staten Island Sea View Hospital opened in 1913 specifically 
to treat patients with Tuberculosis and, at its peak, Sea View Hospital 
saw nearly 2,000 patients and was one of only four municipal hospitals 
in New York City that did not discriminate against Black nurses.
  Whereas: Virginia Allen received her training at Staten Island 
Seaview Hospital and courageously stepped up on the frontlines to be 
one of the 300 `Black Angels' to treat tuberculosis patients.
  Whereas: the Black Angels were courageous, dedicated, and bold in 
answering the call to come to Sea View and risk their lives caring for 
the grievously sick and ``indigent consumptives'' of New York City, who 
had been banished to this woefully understaffed sanatorium.
  Whereas: Virginia Allen served for 10 years at Staten Island's Sea 
View Hospital, working in the pediatric ward. The Black Angels' years 
of expertise played a significant role in the first ever human trials 
of isoniazid, the first drug to cure tuberculosis. Since its discovery 
in 1952, tens of millions of lives have been saved.
  Whereas: The Black Angels were activists and active members of the 
NAACP, neighborhood churches, and community groups, and became founding 
members of the Lincoln Hospital Alumni Association, the Urban League 
Guild, and the Women's Civic and Political Union. They were fierce 
advocates for the integration of Black nurses into the U.S. military 
and American Nurses Association, and in New York City they worked 
toward desegregating the hospital system.
  Whereas: Virginia Allen continued to serve her community as President 
of the North Shore Staten Island section of the National Council of 
Negro Women.
  Whereas: The people of Staten Island are grateful for the years of 
service by Virginia Allen and all the Black Angels who selflessly 
served on the front lines at Sea View Hospital to treat tuberculosis 
patients.

                          ____________________