| Esther McCready | |
| Birth Date: | 10 January 1931 |
| Birth Place: | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Randallstown, Maryland, U.S. |
| Known For: | Nursing, Desegregation |
Esther McCready (January 10, 1931 – September 2, 2020)[1] was a nurse and teacher who desegregated the University of Maryland School of Nursing in 1950.[2] The case was filed in 1949 in Baltimore City Court by National Association for the Advancement of Colored People lawyers Charles Hamilton Houston and Donald Gaines Murray[3] (McCready v. Byrd, 1949). After the court sided with the university, the case went to the Maryland Court of Appeals, where it was argued by Houston, Murray, and Thurgood Marshall.[4] The lower court's ruling was overturned by the Maryland Court of Appeals, and McCready began classes on September 5, 1950.[5] She is in the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.
After she graduated in 1953,[6] McCready continued her career working for Druid Health Center, Morgan State University as head nurse, Cornell Medical Center in post-operative recovery, Harlem Hospital in the emergency room, and at New York University. Her career also included years as a general education teacher in public school in New York. In addition to nursing, McCready attended the Manhattan School of Music, where she earned a master's degree. She participated in traveling opera groups who toured around United States and Europe.[7]
Esther McCready was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in East Baltimore.[8] Her parents, John and Elizabeth McCready, both were not involved in medicine or politics. She grew up with three other siblings in a loving household.[9] She attended the segregated Dunbar High School in Baltimore, earning acclaim as an honor student. She also worked as a nurses' aide at Sinai Hospital.[10] From a young age, Esther always knew she wanted to be in the nursing field from watching the way nurses worked during her visits to the hospital for routine check-ups.