Atlanta Metro Chapter celebrates the rich history, achievements, and contributions of African-American women throughout time. Their stories inspire, encourage and empower.
Let's honor their legacy together!
Our "Shero of the Week"

First African-American Professional Nurse

Mary Eliza Mahoney
Mary Eliza Mahoney was born in the spring of 1845 in Boston, Massachusetts to freed slaves who had moved to Boston from North Carolina. Mary was educated at Phillips School in Boston which after 1855, became one of the first integrated schools in the country.
Mary knew early on she wanted to become a nurse and began working at the New England Hospital for Women and Children which had an all-women staff of physicians. Holding a variety of roles within the hospital, Mary was admitted to the hospital's professional graduate school for nurses in 1878 at the age of 33 where upon completion, she became the first African-American in the U.S. to earn a professional nursing license.
In 1908, Mary co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) and after decades as a private nurse, Mary became the director of the Howard Orphanage Asylum for black children in Kings Park, Long Island in New York City.
Mary continued to champion women's rights even after her retirement from nursing after 40 years in the profession. After the 19th Amendment was ratified in August 1920, Mary was among the first women who registered to vote in Boston.
Mary Mahoney passed away on January 4, 1926 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, Massachusetts.