Dr lauranne sams biography

Second director, Ethel P. Clarke, named

Ethel P. Clarke served until 1931. (She was born in 1875 in England and died May 30, 1970 in Connecticut.) According to the Shore Line Times, June 4, 1970: She died at 95. Born October 3, 1875, in Lynton, Devon County England, she was the daughter of the late Frederick Tancock and Alice Snell Palmer. Mrs. Clarke graduated from the University of Maryland training school for nurses in 1906. She was superintendent of DeSoto Sanitarium, Jacksonville, FL, until 1911, when she returned to the University Hospital at the University of Maryland and became superintendent of nurses. In 1914 she entered Teacher's College at Columbia University. In 1915, Mrs. Clarke became superintendent of nurses at the University of Indiana Medical School [as written] Indianapolis, Indiana. Mrs. Clarke organized the school of nursing at Indiana University. She moved to Bridgeport in 1933 where she was superintendent of nurses at Bridgeport Hospital. She held this position until she retired in 1941. Mrs. Clarke was a life member of the Nurses Alumnae Association of the University of Maryland and a member of Holy Advent, Episcopal Church. She was predeceased by a brother, F. Flynn Palmer, and two sisters, Mrs. Maude Palmer Wilke and Miss Vera Palmer. She is survived by a nephew John F. Wilke of Cedar Vale, Kansas; and two great nephews, Lynne Wilke of Peru, New York, and Douglas Wilke of East Rockaway, New York.

Dr. Sams spent 16 years teaching at the Indiana School of Nursing. While there she was actively involved in recruitment and retention of minority nursing students. Since leaving the university, the Davis-Sams Distinguished Visiting Professorship was established in 1999. This provides an opportunity for a distinguished leader in nursing to spend a week consulting with faculty, lecturing to students, engaging with the larger community, and like activities. The award was named to honor Anna Mitchem-Davis as the first African American graduate of Indiana School of Nursing and Dr. Lauranne Sams, the first African American faculty member hired in 1958. Both of these women were nursing leaders, helping to open doors for minorities in the nursing field. She then took a position as Dean of the School of Nursing at Tuskegee University in 1974.

After retiring, Dr. Sams continued to pursue her post-doctoral studies.

There is now a scholarship in her name providing funding for nursing student’s to continue their education sponsored by the National Black Nursing Association. The Dr. Lauranne Sams Scholarship provides funding for continuing education. An applicant must be currently enrolled in a nursing program (BSN, AD, Diploma, or LPN/LVN), in good scholastic standing, be a member of NBNA and of a local chapter (if one exists in his or her area), and have at least one full year of school remaining. This specific award is given to a student nurse based on scholastic achievement, financial need, and community service. The amount of the scholarship is $1,000, but the number of scholarships awarded each year varies dependent upon the amount of funds received at the Ecumenical Service held during the Annual Conference.

Black History Month provides a poignant opportunity to honor and amplify the remarkable legacy of Black pioneers in nursing, whose strength and courage have confronted historical racial injustices and continue to serve as an enduring beacon for the ongoing pursuit of nursing and racial equality.

Honoring Black Nurses in History

After the Civil War ended in 1865, southern Blacks lived with a measure of freedom and equality for about 15 years until the legalization of segregation, which denied them equal rights in pretty much every aspect of their lives. Mary Eliza Mahoney, Adah Belle Thoms, Estelle Massey Osborne, and Della H. Raney were among the black nurses in history to drive change during this era.

Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845-1926)

At 33, Mary Eliza Mahoney was one of four students out of 42 to graduate from the New England Hospital School of Nursing, making her the first Black nurse to graduate from nursing school and receive a professional nursing license in the United States. She was a champion for increased access to nursing education and fought against discrimination throughout her career.

Today, the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Organization in Seattle, Washington, awards annual scholarships to nursing students of African heritage residing in Washington. Furthermore, in 2023, the American Nurses Association launched an annual Mary Eliza Mahoney Lecture Series for the next three years in May.

Adah Belle Thoms (1870-1943)

Adah Belle Thoms graduated as the only Black nurse at the Women's Infirmary and School of Therapeutic Massage in 1900. She continued her studies, then became the supervising surgical nurse and acting director of Lincoln Hospital in New York City from 1906-1923. Due to racial policies, she was never named director.

In 1908, she organized and hosted the first meeting of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN), whose mission was to f