Meet three phenomenal Black nurses who we recognize as “firsts” in our school, across Johns Hopkins University, and even across the country.
Fannie Gaston-Johansson
Fannie Gaston-Johansson is professor emerita and the first American-American woman to become a tenured full professor at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Gaston-Johansson passed away in 2021, but she was an internationally renowned nurse educator, researcher, and clinical practitioner who focused on health disparities and the sensory and emotional components of pain. Her legacy lives on in the Johns Hopkins Fannie Gaston-Johansson Faculty of Excellence Program.
Gertrude Hodges
Gertrude Hodges is the first African-American graduate (1959) of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She provided decades of health care, teaching, and mentoring as she inspired generations of Baltimore nurses. Still an icon in our school, there is a scholarship founded in her honor by the Black Student Nurses Association.
Lauren Underwood
Lauren Underwood, the youngest African-American woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives and a 2009 graduate of our school. Congresswoman Underwood co-founded and co-chairs the Black Maternal Health Caucus, she also co-chairs the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee and serves on the House Committee on Appropriations. She was instrumental in implementing the Affordable Care Act during her service at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Read more:
- Lauren Underwood has hit her stride
- … FANNIE GASTON-JOHANSSON
- The Legacy of Black Women in Research Continues
- Mentoring the Next Generation of Black Nurse Researchers
- She Had a Dream
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: SYDNEE LOGAN
Sydnee Logan, MA is the Sr. Social Media and Digital Content Specialist for Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She shares Hopkins Nurses with the world.