NACGN

The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses was started in 1908 when the American Nurses Association refused to accept black women into the association. Before 1911, black women were allowed to be members of ANA but there were far less number compared to the white members. In 1911, only black alumni of the Freedom Hospital in Washington DC who were already members were allowed to continue as members. Without ANA membership, black nurses were primarily working for white families rather than in the hospitals they were trained to be in.