[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 101 (Friday, June 14, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING MS. CURLENE JENNINGS BENNETT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 14, 2024

  Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to include in the Record the 
following Proclamation honoring Ms. Curlene Jennings Bennett:
  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 Curlene Jennings Bennett arrived to work at Staten Island Sea 
View Hospital in 1957 as a registered nurse and worked in the adult 
pavilions of the hospital;
  Whereas Curlene Jennings Bennett received her training at Bellevue 
School of Nursing;
  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 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 following her tenure at Sea View Hospital, Curlene Jennings 
Bennett went to Africa where she lived for four years and helped to 
establish well-baby clinics and teach nutrition. Upon her return to the 
United States, she continued to serve her community as a public health 
and school nurse; and
  Whereas the people of Staten Island are grateful for the years of 
service by Curlene Jennings Bennett and all the Black Angels who 
selflessly served on the front lines at Sea View Hospital to treat 
tuberculosis patients.

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