100: The Untold Story of the Black Angels

56 min • December, 13 2023

Honoring the Black Angels: Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis 

From our first episode, SEE YOU NOW has been focused on trailblazers, changemakers and pioneers, and our 100th episode features a nurse who embodies these values. Virginia Allen, LPN is the last known living Black Angel, part of a group of Black nurses recruited from the Jim Crow South whose tireless efforts led to a cure for tuberculosis, a disease responsible for nearly 18% of New York City deaths in the early 1900s.

Virginia Allen, LPN: A Living Legacy of Black Nursing Trailblazers 

This story follows the Black Angels who, for twenty years, risked their lives working under dreadful conditions while caring for the city's poorest and played a major role in desegregating New York City hospitals along with nursing practice, education, and professional associations including the American Nurses Association.

Live From the 2023 DNPs of Color Conference: Preserving Nursing History and Advancing Equity 

In this episode, recorded live at the 2023 DNPs of Color conference, Virginia and Maria Smilios, author of the new book, 'The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses who Helped Cure Tuberculosis' share their story with Nurses You Should Know creators Joanna Seltzer Uribe and Ravenne Aponte to the next generation of nursing innovators and trailblazers.

Resources

• The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses who Helped Cure Tuberculosis
• DNPs of Color Black Angels Scholarship
• The Black Angels Book Club
• Black Angels remembered for treating tuberculosis patients decades ago
• Schomburg Center volunteer is one of the last surviving Black Angels
• Nurses You Should Know