Customer Reviews

Black Women in White: Racial Conflict and Cooperation in the Nursing Profession, 1890-1950 (Blacks in the Diaspora)

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Hine tells an uncomfortable story of an era of pervasive racism and sexism. It deals with the intersection of race and gender expectations in the nursing profession of the US, up till 1950. In many countries, nursing was a predominently female occupation, and it had to struggle for level of responsibility and recognition, against a male medical profession.

But in the US, there was an overlay of race. Negro women also entered the profession. Or at least tried to. Hine describes how the white female nursing associations responded, by imposing racist exclusionary requirements. In part to try and garner some "respectability" from the white male doctoral hierarchy. A pernicious choice that led to the formation of parallel Negro nursing groups. For those of you who may have heard of the Negro baseball leagues, there are clear parallels.

This is a very powerful and informative book. I was able to get a lot of information for my nursing report. I now have a better understanding of the history in the Nursing Profession. This is a very good book and an eye opener. Bravo!