|
 |
|
|
Current Project
1918, Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio.
Nurse
Aileen Cole
Current
Project
"HEALING OTHERS: HEALING OURSELVES", a videohistory of the
African American Nurse
This video documentary and companion study guide is a broadcast
quality project that reclaims the heritage of the neglected story of
the African American nurse as they sought legitimacy and professional
status. The qualities of heroic womanhood galvanized by a
sorority of consciousness, forged a bond that inspires all nurses.
The historical saga of the African American nurse enriches our
community while sensitizing us to the reality that pain and disease
respect no gender or racial barriers.
Nurses are trained and expected to view the patient in a wider context
than the more specialized role of the physician. As a female dominated
profession, nursing has faced a variety of barriers. For the black
nurse race and gender combined to create a high wall of exclusion that
could only be bridged by first building a professional network
within the black community.
Courageous black women and their allies confronted the dominance of
white male professionals by establishing black hospitals and nurse
training centers. By astute coalition building, and in alliance
with some supportive white leaders, such as Cleveland Congresswoman
Frances Payne Bolton, and Eleanor Roosevelt, this cadre of
professionals triumphed over race.
The quest for equity and professional dignity embodied by black nurses
presaged the civil rights struggles of mid-century and served as a
benchmark in the stride toward freedom in the second half of the
twentieth century.
This documentary employs an historical perspective, utilizing
personal interviews, archival photographs, motion picture footage,
music and narration, to tell the story. The interviews are
intergenerational including a 100 year old nurse, one of the first in
a public school setting, and two recent graduates of the Health
Careers Center High School in Cleveland, Ohio. "Healing
Others: Healing Ourselves" documents the quest for equity under
law as it tells the morally uplifting story of courage and cooperation
by enlisting all who cherish the promise of America.
 
Left: Captain D.H. Raney, first black nurse
of the ANC; Right: The first Black American nurses arrive in Europe in
WW II.
Do
you have a story to tell or a photograph to share?
The producers of "HealingOthers: Healing Ourselves," the
history of the African American nurse are interested in your story or
those of your relatives or friends as it relates to the larger history
of the black nurse. Current and retired nurses are encouraged to
"tell their story."
We are also interested in photographs, yearbooks, or other visual
records that tell the story of the African American nurse. For
example pictures of Forest City Hospital in Cleveland, or other
hospitals that trained or served the black community would be most
welcome. i.e., Provident in Chicago, Freedmen's in Washington D.C., or
Harlem in New York City are just a few examples.
If
you or someone you know has a story to tell you can e-mail it to the
Crile Archives using the following link (please be sure to include
your name, address, and phone number with area code): james.banks@tri-c.cc.oh.us
If
you have a photo or other item you wish to share, you can also contact
the Crile Archives and Dr. Banks at:
JAMES
BANKS
WESTERN CAMPUS C.C.C.
11000 PLEASANT VALLEY ROAD
PARMA, OHIO 44130
OFFICE PHONE: 216-987-5594
FAX: 216-987-5050
Again,
please be sure to include your name, address, and phone number with
area code. Thank you in advance. All photos/materials will be returned
after they are copied.
Links
of further interest:
|
|
