Martha Minerva Franklin (October 29, 1870 – September 26, 1968) was one of the first people to campaign for racial equality in nursing.

Early life

Franklin was born in

New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River, and it shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is t ...

, to Mary E. Gauson and Henry J. Franklin. She had a sister, Florence, and a brother, William. Her father had been a soldier in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Franklin graduated from Meriden Public High School in 1890 as one of few African American members of her class. In 1895, she moved to Philadelphia to attend the

Women's Hospital Women's Hospital was a 134-bed maternity and women's care hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was North Carolina's first free-standing hospital dedicated to women. In 1977, Humana opened Greensboro Hospital, the city's first for-profit ho ...

Training School for Nurses. She graduated in December 1897 and as the only African American member of her graduating class. After graduation, Franklin returned to Meriden and began doing in-home private duty nursing. In the early 1900s, Franklin moved to

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

and became involved in the city's black social organizations.

Nursing activism

In the fall of 1906, Franklin began to study the status of black nurses. She mailed more than 500 letters to black nurses, superintendents of nursing schools, and nursing organizations in order to gain a wider perspective on the experiences of African American nurses. Franklin determined that the prestigious

American Nurses Association The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a 501(c)(6) professional organization to advance and protect the profession of nursing. It started in 1896 as the Nurses Associated Alumnae and was renamed the American Nurses Association in 1911. It is ba ...

was technically open to African American members, but many State Nurses Associations refused to admit black members. State-level membership was required to join the American Nurses Association and thus, many qualified African American nurses were barred from full membership in the national association. Franklin sent 1,500 letters to black nurses, suggesting a national meeting. Adah Belle Samuel Thoms hosted the meeting at the Lincoln Hospital and Home in New York City. Fifty-two nurses attended this first meeting to form the

National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses was a professional organization for African American nurses founded in 1908. Foundation In 1906, Connecticut nurse Martha Minerva Franklin surveyed African American nurses to see what challenges ...

(NACGN) and Franklin was elected president. Three goals were set out in the initial meeting of the NACGN: improve training for black nurses, reduce racial inequality in the nursing profession, and cultivate leaders from within the black nursing community. The NACGN received early support from the

National Medical Association The National Medical Association (NMA) is the largest and oldest national organization representing African American physicians and their patients in the United States. The NMA is a 501(c)(3) national professional and scientific organization repr ...

, a black physicians' group. The NACGN was invited to hold their meetings in tandem with the

and articles written by nurses were published in the

's journal. In 1951, the NACGN merged with the American Nurses Association.

Career

Franklin moved to New York City in 1928 and graduated from a six-month postgraduate course at Lincoln Hospital. Through this course, Franklin became a

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...

and began working as a public school nurse. Between 1928 and 1930, Franklin studied public health nursing at

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...

, but did not complete a degree.

Later life and death

Franklin retired and moved to New Haven. She died at the age of 98 in 1968. She is buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery.

Posthumous honors

In 1976, Franklin was inducted into the ANA's Nursing Hall of Fame. In 2009, she was inducted into the

Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame The Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame (CWHF) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Connecticut for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. The CWHF had its beginnings in 1993 when a group of volunteers partn ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Martha Minerva 1870 births 1968 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights African-American nurses American nurses American women nurses People from New Milford, Connecticut People from New Haven, Connecticut 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women Suffragists from Connecticut African-American suffragists