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Provision for the enjoyment of optimal health is the birthright of every American.
Major health interest groups and governmental agencies believe this and act upon it.
Black Americans, along with other minority groups, in our society are not utilizing the health care facilities available in spite of obvious health deficiencies.
As Black Nurses; we have therefore established a local association to investigate, define and determine what are the less obvious, but perhaps more serious, health care needs of Blacks and other minorities in the local community.
This association is dedicated to the implementation of a health care program consisting of prevention, education and follow-up care for the maintenance of an optimal level of health. "The Association is dedicated to providing the instrumentation for positive change - change in quality of health care especially to Black people; change in the structure of existing institutions and through establishing new ones to meet our needs; change in the legislation and policies that affect Black people; and change in the status of Black nurses, through unity, moving into the mainstream of other existing organizations. These and numerous other changes can and must come about.
Unity through NBNA is our most urgent task. We are not concerned about intellectual pursuits, levels of preparation, social position and the like. And we choose to forsake the luxury of self and vested interests, which divide and distract from pursuit of the common goals which unite. The success of the organization is dependent upon the fullest participation of every Black nurse across this nation. Indeed the "work at hand" will demand the involvement of Black nurses of every conceivable profile. NBNA needs nurses in every geographical locale; of every educational level; of every age; and of as many personal and professional' interests as possibly exist. Members are needed to assist in developing and implementing program activities, securing monies for continued operation, developing materials for publication, recruiting members and generally to engage in the growth promoting activities of and for the Association. Black nurses constitute an essentially untapped resource of knowledge, understanding, interest, concern and experience needed to bring about a significant difference in the health care status of the Black community. Through uniting to address the urgent health care plight of millions of Black consumers, Black nurses will emerge as prime movers and leaders meaningfully engaged in determining what nursing must and shall be. Ultimately we believe that the activities of the National Black Nurses' Association will prove to benefit not only Black and poor people but will serve to enhance the greater society in a very real sense.
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1. Three percent or less of African American student nurses enrolled in schools of nursing.
2. Black nurses were being employed in settings where there were few and sometimes no Black counterparts.
(a) Black nurses had no meaningful avenues for mutual support, collaboration, and action around common concerns, especially the health plight of Black Americans.
3. Most Black Nurses did not belong to other nursing organizations, most viewed them as a white medium, having no avenues or activities which would suggest major consideration to minority participation, despite the mandate which had accompanied the dissolution of the NACGN (National Association of Colored Graduate Nursing) in 1951.
4. Isolation when involved in the national organizations.
5. The absence of black nurses in positions which count.
In the fall of 1969, Dr. Lauranne Sams met with a group (seven) of Black nurses that was attending an N.L.N meeting in St. Louis (out of 600 nurses only 10 were Black).
In 1970 at the ANA convention, Dr. Sams called a meeting together, over 150 nurses met, discussing common concerns. Before they left the ANA meeting:
1. The action oriented Black Nurses council was established with Dr. Sams serving as the groups chairperson, they collected $123.00 to provide written communication.
2. Dr. Sams and this group felt that an independent organization designed to address the particular needs of Black nurses was desirable.
3. In 1971 these nurses voted to organize the National Black Nurses Association.
4. During the two initial meetings in December 1971 and March 1972, the Associations philosophy, purpose and objectives were formulated.
5. The beginning draft of the Constitution and By-Laws was developed
6. An attorney was contracted and incorporation procedures were initiated.
7. Yearly conferences serve to provide the Association with a firm foundation.
1. The first Conference was to help in Cleveland, Ohio in 1973, the theme; "Emerging Roles for Black Nurses: Responsibility, Accountability, and Militancy". (a) This conference provided the opportunity for Black Nurses to focus on the relationship between the extended role of the nurse and its implications for nursing education and health care delivery.
1. Share common concerns and needs.
2. Share experiences and resources.
3. Identify and utilize strengths.
4. Mobilize efforts in aggressively pursue NBNA purposes and objectives.
5. Foster unification of Black Nurses, organize local Black Nurses organizations.
I approach the writing of this particular message to You with a unique mixture of nostalgia, immense thanksgiving and gratitude, great concordance and Joyousness and sincere hope and faith in the future of the National Black Nurses' Association - for this is the last newsletter message which I will have the opportunity to share with you as Your President. The Fifth Institute Conference to be held in Boston in November will afford me the opportunity to communicate to you by way of the Conference Program a summary of the Association’s activities to include those of the past year. Thus, I solicit Your indulgence as I use this message to share with you my reminiscence of some of the thoughts and events which resulted in the organization of the NBNA. You will have heard in my Previous talks and messages much of what I will say here. But will you come. along with me and listen once again?
Remember those restless Years which activated our discontent Early in the nineteen-sixties, sit-in techniques were developed, became defined and caught on to the point that, as we remember, successive chains of sit-ins in a wide variety of public places were staged predominately in southern states across this nation. Bayard Rustin, one of our most notable Black civil rights activists of that era, credited student groups and protests of the sixties, which galvanized Black as well as White students into action, as "resurrecting political debate- on American campuses, and thus, throughout society. The sixties signaled and gave notice of the fact that Black Americans would no longer tolerate the disparities and inequities of the past. Nor were Blacks willing to remain oppressed and powerless. Clearly Black people would seek change, and would themselves change, in whatever ways were necessary to gain a sense of potency and power and would stand erect and proud as viable free men and women. These events, added to the Black struggle since 1777, against the backdrop of slavery, sparked in Black people everywhere a now awareness - a sense of openness and pride in the, importance and beauty of being Black and in the richness of our African heritage.
This era created in me, as was obviously true in the case of many Black nurses across the country, an awakening of my "Black 'nurse’ self". A product of a school of nursing with a three-percent, or less, Black enrollment, followed by employment in settings where there were few and sometimes no Black counterparts, meant that I had been all but totally bereft of meaningful avenues - for mutual support, collaboration and action around common concerns, especially the health care plight of Black people. Having became more acutely aware of the profound isolation I was experiencing, gave way to a decided unwillingness to longer endure what I now clearly perceived as a deprivation having a deleterious effect.
I did not begin to involve myself actively in nursing organizations until the mid to late 1960's because, I had frankly viewed them as a white medium, having observed no avenues or activities which would suggest major consideration to minority participation despite the mandate which had accompanied dissolution of the NACGN in 1951. It was not, however, until I began to participate in nursing organizations that I fully recognized the isolation which I felt, and it was more than disquieting. When I looked around for Black nurses, few could be found. As a Black nurse, I had always wanted to make a difference in the health condition of my people. As I involved myself in several community action programs in my city (including a technical assistant advocacy role in the model cities program) my concern for the plight of my people and the absence of Black nurses in positions which count became more acute. It seemed to me that Black nurses together could' have a much more tangible effect. Not much enthusiasm generated from the several Black nurses with whom I initially talked about this concern. Whenever I saw Black nurses at meetings, I always sought them out for a chat and voiced my concern. But numbers present at such meetings were always few and the time short.
So great was my need to relate to Black nurses that in the Fall of 1969, when I went to the NLN Department of Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Programs Meeting in St. Louis, I was determined to try to meet together with Black nurses who might be there. I shared my intent with a Black nurse from my hometown who was also attending the meeting and with whom I was sharing a hotel room. Of the approximately five to six hundred nurses attending that meeting, I counted some ten or eleven Blacks. Having spread the word, seven of us met in my hotel room on the evening prior to the close of that meeting, Lively dialogue took place as we met. While I was aware of Black groups such as the Mary Mahoney Club and the Chi Eta Phi, it was not until the time of that meeting that I learned from one of the persons who met with us that Black nurses in the Los Angeles area had organized a Black Nurses Council in 1967 (about the same time my own thoughts about this need were surfacing) and that San Francisco had formed a group also. There seemed to be general agreement and responsiveness to the idea that the need existed for more interaction and supportive activities among Black nurses over the country. At that meeting I indicated that I was entertaining the idea of calling an informal meeting of Black nurses during the AIVA Convention which was scheduled to meet in Miami, Florida, the following March.
The 1970 American Nurses Association Convention seemed an ideal time to get to know more Black nurses and I was anxious for that opportunity. Upon arriving in Miami and observing over two hundred nurses present, I spoke to several about my desire to call a caucus. Spurred by their interest, I immediately made arrangements for that meeting. More than 150 nurses met, discussing common concerns.
Before leaving the Miami meeting, a plea to provide for ongoing communication resulted in an Action Oriented Black Nurses Council, a rather loose but determined group. I was elected as the group's chairperson. As they left the room, those present contributed $123.00 to provide for at least limited written communication. The group also indicated the desire to have a planned Black Caucus and programmatic meeting at the time of the 1972 convention to be held in Detroit. Clearly the meeting in 1970 was the beginning avenue for communication among Black nurses and liberation from long years of isolation and separation. There was not, however, any clear sense of direction from the group with regard to the eventual structure which this "bringing together" should take.
For many months prior to the Miami meeting I had been thinking about the needs of Black nurses. I was now more thoroughly convinced this to several nurses in Miami and thereafter. Very shortly I received several messages and telephone calls from nurses who attended the Miami Caucus questioning this. I was reminded by several in no uncertain terms that this was not, according to their understanding, the intent of the Caucus nor had the group made such a decision. This was true. Thus, the desire to 'et off the book- caused me to make what proved to be an overcautious statement of assurance that a separate group was not intended in a July 1.970 communication to those persons who had been in attendance at the Miami meeting. However, observing that, fired by the stimulus of the Miami effort, several local Black nursing associations were forming, it was clear to me that a separate association was the viable and timely option. In talking with several other Black nurses, I determined that there was a definite desire among a number of us for an independent national organization. Therefore, I telephoned eight nurses from various parts of the country inviting them to meet in Cleveland, Ohio for the dual purpose of 1) planning a program to be held in the 1972 ANA Convention as had been promised to the Miami Caucus Group, and 2) organizing a National Black Nurses’ Association, a separate structure from ANA, parallel to it, geared to work in 'a complimentary and hopefully cooperative way with that organization. Dr. Mary Harper, who was then employed in Brecksville, Ohio, kindly offered her home for the meeting and to house and feed us.
At the founding meeting in 1971, eleven Black nurses unanimously voted to organize the National Black Nurse’s Association.
During the two initial meetings in December of 1971 and March of 1972, the Association's philosophy, purposes and objectives were formulated, a beginning draft of' the Constitution and By-Laws was developed, an attorney was contacted and incorporation procedures were initiated. In September of 1972, NBNA became incorporated and soon afterwards, received tax exempt and tax deductible status. In addition, the founding group met the commitment made at Miami in 1970 by planning programming for Black nurses which would be a part of the 1972 American Nurses’ Association Convention. It was decided that the "SYMPOSIA" which were planned could act as a means of informing Black nurses of NBNA's founding, serve as a vehicle by which to increase greater geographical interest and involvement and provide for us one means of immediate access to one segment of the Black nurse population. Because you were there, many of you remember that successful multi-faceted effort in Detroit in May of 1972 when Black nurses from all across the nation united together with the NBNA Steering Committee to participate in what proved to be a monumentally successful, memorable occasion. At that time hundreds of Black nurses caucused together in groups, based on geographical regions, around organizational strategies germane to NBNA's further development. From these groups the Steering Committee, which later became the Board of Directors, was expanded.
The major thrust of the Association initially was to make clear its In e and direction and stimulate nurses to begin to organize local groups. The following excerpt from some of the written material developed and embodying the essence of the NBNA, was the constant challenge to Black nurses with whom we sought to communicate and/or to become involved across the nation however and whenever possible.
"The Association is dedicated to providing the instru-mentation for positive change - change in quality of health care especially to Black people; change in the structure of existing institutions and through establishing new ones to meet our needs; change in the legislation and policies that affect Black people; and change in the status of Black nurses, through unity, moving into the mainstream of other existing organizations. These and numerous other changes can and must come about. Unity through NBNA is our most urgent task. We are not concerned about intellectual pursuits, levels of preparation, social position and the like. And we choose to forsake the luxury of self and vested interests, which divide and distract from pursuit of the common goals which unite. The success of the organization is dependent upon the fullest participation of every Black nurse across this nation. Indeed the "work at hand" will demand the involvement of Black nurses of every conceivable profile. NBNA needs nurses in every geographical locale; of every educational level; of every age; and of as many personal and professional interests as possibly exist. Members are needed to assist in developing and implementing program activities, securing monies for continued operation, developing materials for publication, recruiting members and generally to engage in the growth promoting activities of and for the Association.
Black nurses constitute an essentially untapped resource of knowledge, understanding, interest, concern and experience needed to bring about a significant difference in the health care status of the Black community. Through uniting to address the urgent health care plight of millions of Black consumers, Black nurses will emerge as prime movers and leaders meaningfully engaged in determining what nursing must and shall be. Ultimately we believe that the activities of the National Black Nurses' Association will prove to benefit not only Black and poor people but will serve to enhance the greater society in a very real sense."
Four Institute-Conferences which have served to provide the Association with a firm foundation, have been successfully accomplished. In brief review the first Institute-Conference held in Cleveland, Ohio in 1.973 with the theme "Emerging Roles for Black Nurses: Responsibility, Accountability and Militancy" was planned to provide the opportunity for Black nurses to focus on the relationship between the extended role of the nurse and its implications for nursing education and health care delivery. Of major importance is the fact that the first National meeting provided the mechanism and the avenue through which Black nurses began to focus together upon common concerns and needs, share experiences and resources, identify and utilize strengths, and mobilize efforts in aggressively pursuing NBNA's purposes and objectives formulated at the time of its founding in 1.971. One of the main objectives which those who planned the first national meeting sought was to foster the unification of Black nurses. Through stimulating the organization of BNA's across the country the unity, purpose and action of NBNA has become dynamic and meaningful.
The Second National Institute-Conference hold in Miami, Florida in 1974, took a penetrating look at "Institutional Racism: Impact on Health Care Delivery. Through in-depth focus on institutional racism . Some Black nurses interacted together in examining and exploring its impact on the health status of the Black consumer followed by planning and developing strategies for affirmative action approaches designed to make a meaningful impact toward change.
The Black Experience, the Black Family: Implications for Health Care Delivery- was the theme for the 1975 Institute-Conference. In addition to a reaffirmation of the importance and significance of the Black experience, the Black family, the health status of Black people, their problems and potentials were considered along many dimensions. Of particular focus were the strengths which have enabled Black families to survive and to make advancements despite years of depression, suppression and oppression in a racist society.
The 1976 theme "Health Care 1984: Implications for Black Consumers and Providers- looked at deficits in the planning and delivery of care in the Black Community, modalities for developing new approaches to care and strategies to affect change.
This years' theme, "A Heritage Remembered, Practical Approaches to Health Care Problems of Black Americans", promises to offer knowledge and information and to promote collaboration among health care providers which it is hoped will generate the development of meaningful strategies for change in addressing the health care problems of Black people.
We are nearing the end of six years since that crisp, bright memorable December day when NBNA came to be. By the time of our sixth anniversary, the fifth Institute-Conference, to be held in Boston in November, will have been successfully accomplished and a new, creative, energetic and, I am sure, dedicated team of officers will be busily making plans and engaging in activities germane to assuring the success of the next five years. In order to impact the many problems which immediately affect Black people, NBNA must, in coming years, function much more effectively and smoothly as an organized group.
While organizational objectives and purposes will doubtlessly remain the same, increasingly, they will require the application of new approaches and strategies.
New leadership is an important and essential ingredient for all organizations/associations and is necessary in order to keep them viable and growing. So with some nostalgia, but, without ambivalence or reluctance I shah soon relinquish the privilege which I have enjoyed since its founding-leadership of the National Black Nurses Association. However, in doing so I will in no way abandon the cause but will remain an active participant and steadfast and strong supporter. Unabashedly, I admit that part of my personal dreams along with, I am sure, those of the many Black nurses who have made the movement work, are stapled to and intricately interwoven in my belief in NBNA in 1977 and beyond. We can and must make our dreams a reality. In doing so, however, it is important to remember, that in the final analysis it is "the work that counts- - it is work for the sheer sake of committing to the goals and objectives in which we truly believe and which best serve the common good, and not the zest for personal glory and self aggrandizement or the applause which may follow, which turns dreams into reality.
National Black Nurses’ Association has made great strides. It's growth in membership, organization and meaningful activities has been tremendous. The Association has also made significant gains In a relatively short time in visibility, structure and strength. Able and dedicated persons have given many steady and productive hours of time and have also expended money in considerable amounts to assure the Association's solidarity and strength. Their contributions to the development and to the future potential of the Association are immeasurable.
Finally, I invite you to join me in gratitude for the epoch memories which are the "roots of our great National Association." But, as we rejoice in the triumph of accomplishment, let us pledge greater unity of purpose and denoted participation moving forward together with the full force of our power to face the challenge of the next five years.
My esteem and love for each of you remains endless. Progress, Power, Peace and Love
Lauranne Sams, President
National Black Nurses' Association
The Army Nurse Corps accepted only a small number of black nurses during World War Il. When the war ended in September 1945 just 479 black nurses were serving in a corps of 50,000 because a quota system imposed by the segregated Army during the first two years of the war held down the number of black enrollments. In 1943, for example, the Army limited the number of black nurses in the Nurse Corps to 160. Army authorities argued that assignments available to black nurses were limited because they were only all owed to care for black troops in black wards or hospitals. But unfavorable public reaction and political pressure forced the Army to drop its quota system in 1944. Subsequently, about 2,000 black students enrolled in the Cadet Nurse Corps program, and nursing schools for blacks benefited from increased federal funding.
The first black medical unit to deploy overseas was the 25th Station Hospital Unit, which contained thirty nurses. The unit went to Liberia in 1943 to care for U.S. troops protecting strategic airfields and rubber plantations. Malaria was the most serious health problem the troops encountered. Although malarial patients required an intensive amount of care, much of this work was routine and could be rendered by trained corpsmen. The nurses felt superfluous, and unit m orale declined. The nurses were recalled late in 1943 because of poor health and low morale. Some were sent to general and station hospitals in the United States; others went to the 383d and 335th Station Hospitals near Tagap, Burma, where they treated black troops working on the Ledo Road. Another group of fifteen nurses deployed to the Southwest Pacific Area in the summer of 1943 with the all-black 268th Station Hospital. In June 1944 a unit of sixty-three nurses went to the 168th Station Hospital in England to care for German prisoners of war. By the end of the war, black nurses had served in Africa, England, Burma, and the Southwest Pacific.
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