Book SummaryThe Black Angels, by Maria Smilios

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Black Angels

The challenges and hardships faced by Black nurses.

This section delves into the obstacles faced by African American nurses in the initial decades of the 1900s. Smilios underscores the widespread influence of systemic discrimination and policies of segregation, which created a framework of inequality that permeated every facet of life in the American South, encompassing education, property ownership, earnings, and the spectrum of job opportunities.

Discrimination was a reality for black nurses.

Smilios emphasizes the continuous obstacles and biases that African American nurses face. Despite possessing greater experience and qualifications, their intelligence, competence, and professional capabilities were frequently doubted by colleagues of a different race. The belief held by these white women was that Black nurses were only suitable for rudimentary duties like maintaining cleanliness, mopping floors, and giving bed baths, rather than recognizing their complete professional capabilities. This overt discrimination led numerous Black women to either leave their selected professions or hindered their ability to start one.

Prejudice against Black intelligence and competence hindering professional opportunities

The book sheds light on the pervasive racial prejudice in the healthcare industry, which resulted in Black women being trained for non-existent positions. During the 1920s and 1930s, very few hospitals with limited staff were willing to employ African American nurses. Hospital administrators, many of whom originated in the northern regions, held the mistaken notion alongside their southern peers that Black individuals had a reduced capacity for intellectual and logical thought. As a result, nurses of African American descent often earned lower wages and were regularly overlooked for promotional prospects. Edna Sutton's experience in Savannah highlights this: prior to working as a clerk, she was a trained nurse who couldn't find a job because only Black hospitals would hire her, and both of Savannah's Black hospitals relied on "cheap student labor." In New York City, employment opportunities for Black nurses were confined to a limited selection of public health institutions, namely Harlem, Lincoln, Metropolitan, and Sea View hospitals. The environment for labor was consistently deplorable.

Smilios emphasizes how this prejudice was not just Southern but was widespread throughout America. The story of Alyce Greene poignantly exemplifies this truth. In the late 1930s, Greene, who had earned an undergraduate nursing degree from a prestigious institution, aimed to enroll in the renowned nursing course at Bellevue Hospital. Despite possessing the necessary qualifications, she found her application turned down by Bellevue, as during that period, advanced courses for Black nurses were not offered in New York City. Greene and his colleagues incited the NACGN to scrutinize how New York hospitals were staffing their facilities. In 1942, Bernecker, the head of the municipal hospital system, declared a groundbreaking policy that mandated the inclusion of Black candidates in all educational programs under the jurisdiction of the hospital department. The onset of integration brought about additional challenges and deepened the anguish.

Context

• The training for non-existent positions can be seen as a form of economic exploitation, where institutions benefited from the labor of Black trainees without providing them with fair employment opportunities or compensation.
• In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pseudoscientific theories, such as eugenics, falsely claimed that racial differences in intelligence were biologically determined. These ideas were widely discredited but influenced societal attitudes.
• The Great Migration saw many African Americans moving to northern cities like New York in search of better opportunities. However, the influx of Black workers often led to increased competition for jobs, exacerbating employment challenges.
• During the early to mid-20th century, systemic racism was entrenched in many American institutions, including healthcare. This was a period when Jim Crow laws were still in effect in the South, and de facto segregation was prevalent in the North.
• The mandate by Bernecker to include Black candidates in educational programs was part of a broader movement towards integration, which aimed to dismantle institutional barriers and promote equality. However, these policies often faced resistance and were challenging to implement effectively.
• The constant need to prove oneself and navigate a racially charged environment could lead to significant emotional and psychological stress, impacting mental health and job satisfaction.

Individuals holding authority and their peers within the community, all of whom lacked racial diversity, continued to endorse damaging clichés and a tradition of disgrace.

Smilios highlights the transformation of racial bias into verbal harassment within healthcare institutions. White nurses frequently engaged in spreading slanderous tales about their Black counterparts. The chief administrator at Grady Hospital in Atlanta issued a declaration emphasizing the importance of maintaining constant vigilance to ensure ethical behavior, as its absence could lead to widespread theft of anything in sight. superintendent at Harlem Hospital, was of the opinion that Black nurses in Harlem lacked the requisite credentials to be considered for supervisory positions. The slander was evident when Lorna Mitchell responded to the transfer of African American nurses away from Sea View in 1935. Mitchell fabricated a rule that barred their move to prevent her medical team from shifting to the more prominent Queensboro-Hillcrest hospital. Following the revelation and subsequent scrutiny of the incident, Mitchell was confronted by accusations from African American journalists who claimed she concocted a story...

The Black Angels Summary The crucial role played by Black nurses in controlling the tuberculosis epidemic.

This section of the narrative details the ascent and subsequent fall of Sea View Hospital, highlighting the crucial contributions of Black nurses to its functioning, despite the misleading representations made to the city's African American community by those in power. The author underscores the critical role that Black nurses played in maintaining the operations at Sea View and shaping the course of tuberculosis treatment, a contribution so essential that its absence would have led to profound changes in the facility often referred to as the "pest house."

The establishment functioned as a place set apart for seclusion.

Smilios explores how Sea View Hospital evolved from a reputable haven that provided comfort, rest, and chances for recuperation into a distressing experience where most patients found healing unattainable. The hospital, recognized by social reformers and political figures as the city's first attempt to tackle tuberculosis, faced scorn from Staten Island residents who disdainfully labeled it a "pest house." The Quarantine Station was viewed with discomfort, seen as a place that brought sorrow and affliction, casting a shadow over their native land and...

The Black Angels Summary Progress in tuberculosis control was made at the Sea View institution.

The narrative illustrates how Sea View evolved into a crucial facility for advancing tuberculosis treatments, despite initially serving as a quarantine location and grappling with limited funding.

The first strategy for treatment consisted of various operative procedures.

Maria Smilios explores the evolution of tuberculosis therapy, tracing its development from initial treatments like fish liver extract to the surgical excision of diseased tissue, while highlighting the significance of clean air throughout the treatment regimen. The writer highlights that prior to the introduction of antibiotic treatments, the battle with tuberculosis was protracted and challenging, with healthcare workers tirelessly striving to mitigate the disease, despite the initial remedies being imperfect and only partially successful.

Prior to the 1930s, the lack of effective treatments and the unavailability of powerful medications posed considerable challenges.

The author highlights that during the 1900s, medical experts commonly held the view that adopting a lifestyle which rejected the rapid pace of contemporary life was essential in managing tuberculosis. Physicians recommended that...

The Black Angels Summary Personal Lives and Cultural Context

This section explores the personal journeys of the caregivers from Black Sea View, highlighting their decision to leave behind their southern families and homes in search of new beginnings in the city.

The significant impact that the nurses in their communities experienced due to the extensive migration of African Americans.

Smilios credits the increase in the number of Black nurses at Sea View to the widespread relocation phenomenon termed the Great Migration. She narrates the odyssey of these women who, seeking to inherit the mantle of their predecessors, fled the southern states to evade the deep-seated pre-Civil War mindsets and the limited financial opportunities born from ongoing racial bias. Despite severing ties with their past and kin, attaining freedom in the North was fraught with challenges. The women quickly understood that, even though it was less obvious, racism persisted, particularly when they sought steady employment or accommodations.

They left their southern homes in pursuit of a more promising future.

The author emphasizes that the pursuit of work at Sea View went beyond simply obtaining a job; it symbolized the creation of new opportunities for...