The First: Mary Eliza Mahoney

Mary Eliza Mahoney broke the gender and racial barrier when she became the first Black woman to earn her nursing license in 1879. Although Black women had long been performing the work of nurses, Mahoney's successful completion of a rigorous licensing programming demonstrated that African American women were capable of succeeding in medicine. But just who was Mary Eliza Mahoney? Tune in to find out. Support the show