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Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Johnson today introduced a resolution to recognize Mary Elizabeth Mahoney, a model American citizen, and true patriot who dedicated a lifetime of public service to our nation.
Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first African American woman to receive professional nurse training. She was accepted as a student nurse at the hospital-based program of nursing of the New England Hospital for Women and Children in 1877. "When she graduated from the New England Hospital for Women and Children School of Nursing in 1879, she was the first and only African American woman to receive this formal training, a recognizable achievement given the historic events that surrounded the post emancipation era," said Congresswoman Johnson.
"I am a nurse by profession and understand the insurmountable obstacles that African Americans faced when entering and graduating from professional nursing schools in the pre-Civil Rights Era. I am pleased to have been a part of paying tribute to a woman who paved my way in making nursing an equal opportunity profession."
With this resolution, Congress honored the enormous role Ms. Mahoney played in making nursing an equal opportunity profession which continues to be a source of pride and inspiration to all nurses.
Congresswoman Johnson’s legislation was introduced with thirty nine original Congressional signatures. The measure has also received the strong endorsements of the Congressional Black Caucus, the American Nurses Association, the Association of Black Nurses, The Association of Minority Nurses, Asian American/Pacific Nurses Association, National Alaska Native American Indian Nurses Association, and National Association of Hispanic Nurses, and the Congressional Nurses Caucus.
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