Historical Contribution of Adah Belle Samuels Thoms to Nursing
Adah Belle Samuels Thoms was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1870. She was a renowned champion of equal opportunity for black women in America. She started her active role as an educator and then as a trained nurse. One year after graduating from the Lincoln Hospital Home School of Nursing in 1905, Adah was appointed as the director of the institution. She held that position for almost twenty years. However, during that time, racism was prevalent in America, and it was not easy for people of color to hold such positions. Despite the challenges, she managed the job with brilliance and dignity. Still, racism prevented her from formally being named the director.
Firstly, Adah was a crusader who championed for the equal rights of professional African-American nurses. Being a crusader was one of the key contributions of Thoms to the history of nursing in the United States. She worked together with Martha Franklin who was the originator of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) to promote equal rights and opportunities for black nurses. During that period, Thoms served as the president of the Lincoln Hospital Alumnae Association. During her tenure as the association's president, Thoms became the first holder of the Mary Mahoney Award that later turns out to be one of the most prestigious awards conferred by the American Nurses Association (ANA).
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Secondly, Thoms' role as an activist triggered her involvement in the campaign for the enlistment of African-American nurses to the American Red Cross (ARC). At the time, being a member of the ARC provided a pathway to the “U.S. Army Nurse Corps.” When the First World War broke out, she advised black nurses to sign up for the “U.S. Army Nurse Corps” and rejected to consent their refusal to do so because of racial prejudice. Because of her advocacy, the ARC agreed to enroll the first black nurses in the “U.S. Army Nurse Corps” a year after the country joined the War. Even so, their number was limited, and it was only after the end of the war that over seventeen African-American nurses became registered as members of the Army Nurse Corps. Still, this was a success and another significant contribution of Thoms to the nursing profession in America. Currently, the U.S. Army Nurse Corps does not discriminate in its recruitment process.
To add, to promote ethics in the nursing profession, Adah urged veteran nurses to take part in developing the careers of budding nurses to encourage work principles. When a drive began to join the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses with the National Medical Association, Adah Belle Samuels was opposed to the idea since she believed this would lead to racial profiling against colored nurses. Thoms also wanted to keep her crusade alive and merging the two associations would limit the campaigns for equal rights and opportunities for black nurses. Nevertheless, she was for the idea of consolidating the “American Nurses Association and the National Organization of Public Health Nurses.” Her idea eventually succeeded, and today the two associations are merged to form a single association.
Additionally, apart from being a professional nurse and an activist, Adah was also a writer, and she authored a book titled Pathfinders: A History of the Progress of Colored Graduate Nurses. She died in 1943 and was inducted into the ANA Hall of Fame in 1976. Her induction into the ANA Hall of Fame has paved the way for other black inductees such as Hattie Bessent and Capt. Mary Lee Mills who were inducted in 2008 and 2012 respectively.
References
Arnold, M. L. G., Gilliam, A. E. O., & Arnold, T. M. (1966). Gladneys in America. T. Arnold.
Lane, L. R., Bethune, M. M., Cadoria, S. G., War, C., Earley, C. A., Grimké, C. L. F., & Staupers, M. K. Black Women in the Military.
