Hazel Johnson-Brown: Silence Is For Leaders

For decades, America has fought in many different wars with the need of health assistance for their soldiers. The American Red Cross is a worldwide organization that helped during the times of war but also provided a path for scientific advancements. Through the American Red Cross and other organizations of this time, they opened up the doors for women to take the chance to advance in the medical field by participating in scientific experiments and being at the aide of wounded soldiers. During this time of scrutiny, the Great War was a hidden opportunity for the encroachment of medical research with the contribution to the expansion of nursing.

In the early 1900’s nursing education was primarily received at hospitals. Graduates mostly worked as private duty nurses, tending to wounds, bathing and administering medications. Others worked in hospitals where autonomy and leadership were considered insubordinate. During WWII nurses were once again at the bedside of soldiers and responsible for treatment decisions for the first time. This lead to once again, the need for highly trained nurses. The Cadet Nurse Corps program was initiated in 1943 where over 100,000 nurses received formal education and training (Travel Nurses Now, 2013). Nurses however remained in short supply post WWII across the United States. One response to the shortage, was the development of two year Associates Degree programs at community colleges. The ADN programs were cheaper, faster, thus making nursing a career possibility to a broader more diverse population of students (Creasia, Friberg 2011)

Being born and raised in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Hazel Winifred Johnson was one out of seven children and had many responsibilities at a young age. The entire family lived on a farm on Valley

While several leadership courses exist within the Navy and are open to all Officers they are designed to be taken during permanent change of station (PCS) in preparation for the Sailors upcoming position and must be written into the Sailor’s orders. However, Nurse Corps Officers, typically, are not given the opportunity to attend

Annie Easley was born on April 23,1933, In Birmingham Alabama. Easley and her brother were raised by thaier single mother Mary Melvin Hoover. Her mother was one of her greatest inspirations and her role model, she always encouraged her to get a good education. In an oral history interview with NASA, she said that her mother always used to tell her "You can be anything you want to. It doesn't matter what you look like, what your size is, what your color is. You can be anything you want to, but you do have to work at it." Annie Easley attended school in Birmingham and graduated as the valedictorian of her grade. At that time Easly Wanted to become a nurse because she thought it was one of the only careers open to black women. However, later on

Phillip Randolph called for an end to employment discrimination against African Americas (Randolph, 1942). Randolph’s main argument was that with so many men off fighting the war, there were many jobs critical to the war effort that were going unfilled due to discrimination against African-Americans (Randolph, 1942). Randolph also argued that while many African Americans didn’t want to see America lose the war, they often questioned what they were fighting for since they are mistreated more from the U.S. government than any government the U.S. is fighting (Randolph, 1942). President Roosevelt heard the arguments from the African American communities and shortly after Randolph’s speech he passed an executive order banning employment discrimination against African Americans in wars related to the war effort. This was one of the first times African Americans had won equality, if only in a specific area. African Americans serving on the homefront in World War II changed the way African Americans were

Because of a brave young girl and her father being bold enough to stand up for their rights by trying to apply the 14th Amendment this was all possible. “Linda Brown was born on February 20, 1942, in Topeka, Kansas. Because she was forced to travel a significant distance to elementary school due to racial segregation, her father was one of the plaintiffs in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, with the Supreme Court ruling in 1954 that school segregation was unlawful”("Linda Brown Biography," ). She was 8 years old at the time when all of this happened. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) worked along side with her and her father to seek justice for this case. People of color’s thoughts and feeling

On July twelfth, 1976, Barbara Jordan delivered a speech to the National Convention. She was the first African American to do so. Barbara represented the Democratic party. In her powerful speech, she addressed equality in everyone, response to change, and the future of America.

She was born in 1855 in Toledo, Ohio. She was born as Sarah Elizabeth Jacobs. She was the second of seven children. After the American Civil War, her and her family moved to Chicago, Illinois.

Whitney Houston grew up in humble beginnings, with fame on her side, helping her to become the modern-day tragic hero that the public knows. According to Biography, “Born on August 9, 1963 in Newark, New

Annie Easley was born April 23, 1933 in Birmingham, Alabama. Born to Mary Melvina Hoover and Samuel “Bird” Johnson. Annie and her older brother were raised by their single mother in Birmingham. Starting from 5th grade all the way through 12th, Annie attended parochial schools. Parochial schools were schools that related only to a church theme. She attended the Holy Family High School. While in high school Annie thought that becoming a nurse or a teacher were the only jobs that were open to African American women. Since Annie didn’t intend on becoming a teacher, she intended on becoming a nurse. Towards the end of high school, Annie decided to purse becoming a pharmacist. She would end up deciding to purse pharmaceutical medicine while graduating valedictorian of her class. After graduating high school valedictorian, Annie Easley attended the Roman Catholic University where she majored in pharmaceuticals. Annie spent two years in the program. The Roman Catholic University would later be called the Xavier University of Louisiana.

Josephine Baker was born Freda Josephine MacDonald in St. Louis, Missouri to her unwed parents: Carrie McDonald and Eddie Carson. Her father soon left the family and Josephine had to help her mother support herself and her three younger half-siblings. At age eight, she got a job working as a maid for a white family (Robinson). At age 12, she had dropped out of school to work. By age 14, she had moved out, been married, and separated from her first husband. She would later go onto marry and divorce three more men. Never was she financially dependent on any man, including her husbands.

Elizabeth Blackwell was born in 1821 in Bristol, England. She was one of nine children and her father was a very prosperous sugar refiner. Her family immigrated to New York City in 1832. Her family was very active in the abolitionist movement in New York. Her father’s refinery did not prosper and forced the family to move to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1838. Her father died shortly after this move and meant that the boys now needed to find work and the girls now needed to attend school. The Blackwells made

Nearly ten years ago I entered the Army service. Through these years my work in the medical service as a medical laboratory technician, biomedical research, and most recently as a registered nurse has challenged me to examine my own practice and technical skills. I have learned about compassion, respect, empathy, equity, understanding, benevolence, and other attributes that contribute to being a proficient nurse. Our service members, families, and military culture present unique challenges that demand diversification, flexibility, and adaptation to sometimes overwhelming circumstances. My love for our military men and women and the families that stand behind them causes me to seek best practices, and innovation. The military has done a tremendous job at advancing battlefield trauma care, and statistics indicate that we have standard setting rates of battlefield lifesaving.

Christy Brown was born in 1932. He was one of 22 children born into a large, poor Irish family; he was one of the thirteen that were able to survive. He was different to his other siblings because he was born with cerebral palsy and was unable to control his speech or his movement, apart from his left foot. He used his left foot to communicate with his family, and also used it to paint and type. It gave him a lot of confidence and joy in his life.