National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN)

The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) was founded in 1908 by Martha M. Franklin; its first annual meeting was held in Boston in 1909. Members were nurses who had graduated from a training program.

In 1918, the U.S. Secretary of War authorized a call to Colored nurses to come into national service. Nurses registered with the American Red Cross Society were allowed to render service to Colored Army enlistees. Colored nurses were assigned to six base hospitals, including Camp Taylor in Louisville, KY. By 1940 there were 94 professional Colored nurses in Kentucky (graduates and students), 91 women and three men.

In 1949, Mrs. Alida C. Daily was president of the NACGN when the national conference was held in Louisville. During that meeting, the NACGN accepted the suggestions presented by the American Nurses Association (ANA) that it assume responsibility of the NACGN and that the association be integrated. The NACGN archives were placed in the New York Public Library.

For more see p. 378 of Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War, by E. J. Scott [available full-text at Google Books]; M. K. Staupers, "Story of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses," The American Journal of Nursing, vol. 51, issue 4 (April 1951), pp. 222-223; E. M. Osborne, "Status and contribution of the Negro nurse," The Journal of Negro Education, vol. 18, issue 3 (Summer 1949), pp. 364-369; "New York Library receives NACGN documents," The American Journal of Nursing, vol. 54, issue 5 (May 1954), pp. 546-554; and No Time for Prejudice, by M. K. Staupers.