Revisiting Georgetown Nursing School History, 1903–1969: Racialized Exclusion, Barriers, and Othering

Abstract Georgetown University School of Nursing began in 1903 as a hospital diploma program. Previous school histories have not interrogated how racism existed within and around registered-nursing education. Nor did they fully celebrate the students and faculty who were trailblazers in bringing diversity to the school and university. This article addresses that scholarly gap. It is intentionally attentive to Black students, faculty, and staff at Georgetown University, given the institution’s history of enslavement and racial segregation. Furthermore, this article seeks to recover the names of individuals in Georgetown nursing education and practice who represent diverse cultural, ethnic, racial, and religious identities, particularly the women who have not been acknowledged in written histories. This article includes the time period from Georgetown’s participation in enslavement to the civil rights era.