Esther McCready (original) (raw)

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American nurse and teacher (1931–2020)

Esther McCready
Born (1931-01-10)January 10, 1931Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died September 2, 2020(2020-09-02) (aged 89)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.

  1. ^ "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. ^ "Esther McCready, MSA SC 3520-14290". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  7. ^ "Esther McCready, Maryland Women's Hall of Fame". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  8. ^ "Esther McCready, first African American student at U-Md. nursing school, dies at 89". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  9. ^ "Esther McCready, RN: Nursing Advocate for Civil Rights". www.nursingworld.org. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  10. ^ Pollitt, Phoebe (2016). "Esther McCready, RN: Nursing Advocate for Civil Rights". Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 21 (2): 7. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol21No02PPT01. PMID 27854428.