By Emily Clark
An activist for Black nurses in the early 20th century, Martha Minerva Franklin worked to end discrimination and secure equal rights for her profession. In 1908, she helped establish the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses.
Franklin’s Childhood and Education
Postcard of the old high school in Meriden, Connecticut in 1909 – By August Schmeizer Co., Wikimedia Commons. Used through Public Domain.
Martha Minerva Franklin was born in New Milford on October 29, 1870, the middle child of Henry J. Franklin and Mary E. Gauson Franklin. When Franklin was a child, her family moved to Meriden. Years later, Franklin graduated from Meriden Public High School in 1890. In 1895, Franklin began school at the Women’s Hospital Training School for Nurses. Upon graduation in December 1897, she was the only Black person in her graduating class.
Creating Opportunities for Black Nurses
Returning to Meriden, Franklin became a private duty nurse after realizing that very few local hospitals were hiring Black nurses. Soon, she relocated to New Haven to continue that same work and became involved in Black religious and social organizations. Frustrated with racial discrimination and the lack of professional opportunities, Franklin took action. She believed that if Black nurses met the same requirements and standards as their counterparts, opportunities should be the same as well. Franklin set out to research whether other Black nurses would be interested in forming their own professional nursing association.
In 1906, Franklin began a two-year study of the nursing field. She found that though Black nurses could join the American Nurses Association, they had limited privileges and could not address issues such as segregation and discrimination. In addition, many state nursing chapters denied membership to Black nurses. This prompted Franklin in 1908 to mail out 1,500 handwritten letters to nursing graduates and professionals across the country to gauge interest in a professional organization for Black nurses.
These nurses agreed to establish their own national association to abolish such racial bias and knew they needed to work together to achieve the most success. On August 25, 1908, 52 Black nurses met at St. Mark’s Methodist Episcopal Church in New York to form the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN). The organization unanimously elected Franklin as the first president and adopted the motto: “Not for ourselves, but for humanity.” The NACGN sought to challenge discrimination, cultivate Black nurse leadership, and advocate for the best practices and interests of trained nurses.
Nursing Work and Retirement
In the 1920s, Franklin moved to New York City to continue her work and her education. She graduated from a postgraduate course at Lincoln Hospital and became a registered nurse for the New York City public school system. While living in New York City, Franklin also enrolled at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Franklin stayed involved with the NACGN, but she handed over the presidency after two terms. Campaigning for decades to end discrimination in the nursing field, the NACGN grew to over 12,000 members by 1940. The NACGN eventually voted to merge with the American Nurses Association in 1949 and dissolved the organization in 1951.
After she retired, Franklin returned to Connecticut and lived the rest of her life with her sister Florence. She died in September 26, 1968, just a month before her 98th birthday, and is buried Walnut Grove Cemetery in Meriden. Both the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame and The Hall of Fame of the American Nurses Association posthumously honored Martha Minerva Franklin for being a pioneer in her field.
Emily Clark is a freelance writer and an English and Journalism teacher at Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge.
