Esther McCready explained

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]

Early life

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.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Remembering Esther McCready, A Nursing Pioneer . UMB News . September 4, 2020 .
  2. A Maryland Pioneer: at 78 Esther McCready Serves As A Volunteer At the University Where She Broke Down Racial Barriers 60 Years Ago. Jacques Kelly. The Baltimore Sun, April 20, 2009.
  3. Suit Filed Against U. of Md., 6 Pending: Racial Policy Forced Action Other Suits to Be Filed This Week. The Baltimore Afro-American, Aug 6, 1949, p. C7.
  4. Equality’s struggles: Baltimoreans reflect on Civil Rights era and their struggles for equality. Julie Scharper, The Baltimore Sun, June 28, 2014.
  5. Negro Nurse Studying At University: Supreme Court Refusal To Act Reveals Girl Is In Hospital Class. The Sun, Oct 10, 1950, p. 34.
  6. Web site: Esther McCready, MSA SC 3520-14290. msa.maryland.gov. 2018-03-08.
  7. Web site: Esther McCready, Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. msa.maryland.gov. 2018-03-08.
  8. News: Esther McCready, first African American student at U-Md. nursing school, dies at 89 . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-06-09 . 0190-8286.
  9. Web site: Esther McCready, RN: Nursing Advocate for Civil Rights. www.nursingworld.org. 2018-03-08.
  10. Esther McCready, RN: Nursing Advocate for Civil Rights. Pollitt. Phoebe. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 2016. 21. 2. 7. 10.3912/OJIN.Vol21No02PPT01. 27854428. free.