Jane E. Mitchell

Last updated

Jane Evelyn Watson Mitchell (1921 - November 13, 2004) was an American nurse. Mitchell was the first African-American to work as a nurse in Delaware. Mitchell went on to work as the director of nursing at the Delaware State Psychiatric Hospital. Mitchell was also a civil rights activist and volunteer.

Contents

Biography

Mitchell was born in 1921 in Coatesville, Pennsylvania and grew up in Wilmington, Delaware. [1] [2] Mitchell graduated from the all-black Howard High School school of nursing training at Provident Hospital in 1944. [1] [3] Mitchell wanted to come back to Delaware to work, but couldn't find employment. [1] She was told by hospitals in the state that they did not hire African-American nurses. [4] Instead, she worked at a Jewish hospital in Philadelphia. [5]

In 1949, Dr. Mesrop A. Tarumianz who was looking for nurses with a background in psychology, hired Mitchell to come work for him at the Governor Bacon Health Center. [1] [4] Mitchell was the first African-American nurse to work in a Delaware hospital. [3] She was also the first black nurse to work with patients of all races in a state hospital. [6] After working at Bacon Health Center, she was transferred to the Delaware State Psychiatric Hospital in 1963. [1] [5] Mitchell earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware in 1963 and eventually received a master's degree from Washington College. [3] [2] In 1969, she was appointed as director of nursing for the hospital. [5] Mitchell retired from the Psychiatric Hospital in 1979. [7] She continued to work as a volunteer for the Delaware State Board of Nursing after her retirement. [4]

A new addition to the Psychiatric Hospital was added in 1998 and named "the Jane Mitchell building." [6] In March 2000, Mitchell was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women. [1] During her life, Mitchell also worked with her husband, Littleton P. Mitchell, as a civil rights activist. [6] She was involved with sit-ins and protests. [6] Littleton was a long-time leader of the NAACP in Delaware. [8] The couple were married in 1943 and had one child Philip, together. [2] Mitchell died in her home in Delaware City on November 13, 2004. [8] Senator Joe Biden gave her eulogy at the funeral. [8] The Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage in Delaware is named for both Mitchell and her husband. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Eliza Mahoney</span> African-American nurse

Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first African-American to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the United States. In 1879, Mahoney was the first African American to graduate from an American school of nursing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucile Petry Leone</span>

Lucile Petry Leone was an American nurse who was the founding director of the Cadet Nurse Corps in 1943. Because the Nurse Corps met its recruiting quotas, it was not necessary for the US to draft nurses in World War II. She was the first woman and the first nurse to be appointed as Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adele Poston</span>

Adele Suyder Poston Sanford was a leading psychiatric nurse in the United States and Chief Nurse at Army Base Hospital 117 in La Fauche, France, during World War I. As Chief Nurse of the first and most significant psychiatric hospital to be near the front lines in a war, she treated soldiers with shell-shock and "war neurosis".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary E. Gladwin</span> English-American nurse (1861–1939)

Mary Elizabeth Gladwin was an English-born American Red Cross nurse active in three wars. She was one of the first six American nurses to receive the Florence Nightingale Medal when it was awarded by the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1920.

Carrie E. Bullock was an American nurse. She served as the president of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) and founded their official newsletter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Della H. Raney</span> African-American army nurse (1912–1987)

Della Hayden Raney was an American nurse in the Army Nurse Corps. Raney was the first African American nurse to report for duty in World War II and the first to be appointed chief nurse. In 1944, she became the first black nurse affiliated with the Army Air Corps promoted to captain, and she was later promoted to major in 1946. Raney retired from the Army in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prudence Burns Burrell</span> American nurse and author

Prudence Hathaway Burns Burrell was an African American nurse and author. During World War II, she served in the Army Nurse Corps in segregated hospitals, mainly in the Pacific theater. Her autobiography, Hathaway, was published in 1997. Burrell continued to tell the story of African American nurses in the war throughout her life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Nevins</span> American nurse

Georgia Marquis Nevins was an American nurse, nursing educator, and hospital administrator.

Goldie D. Brangman-Dumpson was an American nurse and educator. Brangman-Dumpson was a co-founder of the school of anesthesia at Harlem Hospital, where she worked most of her career. Later, she was the director of the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing. While working at Harlem Hospital, she was part of the surgical team that worked on Martin Luther King Jr. after an attempted assassination on September 20, 1958. Brangman-Dumpson was a lifelong volunteer for the Red Cross and the first African-American president of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nita Pippins</span> American nurse and AIDS activist (1927–2020)

Jessie Juanita Pippins was an American registered nurse and AIDS activist. She was the co-founder of Miracle House, a housing facility for family members of those affected by HIV and AIDS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alma Vessells John</span> African-American nurse, civil rights activist, radio and television pioneer and writer (1906–1986)

Alma Vessells John was an American nurse, newsletter writer, radio and television personality, and civil rights activist. Born in Philadelphia in 1906, she moved to New York to take nursing classes after graduating from high school. She completed her nursing training at Harlem Hospital School of Nursing in 1929 and worked for two years as a nurse before being promoted to the director of the educational and recreational programs at Harlem Hospital. After being fired for trying to unionize nurses in 1938, she became the director of the Upper Manhattan YWCA School for Practical Nurses, the first African American to serve as director of a school of nursing in the state of New York.. In 1944, John became a lecturer and consultant with the National Nursing Council for War Service, serving until the war ended, and was the last director of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses from 1946 until it dissolved in 1951. Her position at both organizations was to expand nursing opportunities for black women and integrate black nurses throughout the nation into the health care system.

Anna Martha Fullerton was an American physician and medical educator, born in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Dietrich</span> American nurse, activist and suffragist

A. Louise Dietrich was an American nurse, activist and suffragist who was based in El Paso, Texas. Dietrich came to El Paso in 1902 and stayed to help with the typhoid fever epidemic. In El Paso, she started the first nurses' registry in Texas and also created the El Paso Graduate Nurses Association. She worked at several hospitals both in El Paso and in other cities. Dietrich was one of the organizers and founders of St. Mark's Hospital in El Paso. Dietrich was active with the El Paso Equal Franchise League and later became a president of the Texas League of Women Voters (LWV). Dietrich served as secretary in both the Texas Graduate Nurses Association and the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). After Dietrich's death, she was honored by the Texas House of Representatives for her lifetime of work in nursing and other activism.

Caroline Wellwood was a Canadian nurse, nursing educator, and Christian missionary in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donna Rozar</span> American politician

Donna Mummau Rozar is an American politician, businesswoman, and nurse. A Republican, she represents the 69th district of the Wisconsin State Assembly. The 69th assembly district comprises most of the city of Marshfield, along with rural eastern Clark County, northwest Wood County, and southwest Marathon County. She was elected in the 2020 general election. Rozar is also a member of the Wood County Board of Supervisors, serving since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petra Pinn</span> American nurse

Petra Fitzalieu Pinn was an American nurse and hospital administrator, and president of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) in 1923 and 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estaiene M. DePeltquestangue</span> American nurse

Estaiene M. DePeltquestangue was an American nurse. She was a member of the Kickapoo people and served on the executive council of the Society of American Indians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cora Elm</span> American nurse

Cora Elm was an American nurse. She was a member of the Oneida Nation, and attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School from 1906 to 1913. She served as a Red Cross nurse in France during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Maria Roser</span> American nurse

Helen Maria Roser was an American nurse and nursing educator. She was associate director of the Hartford Hospital School of Nursing, and co-author of an anatomy and physiology textbook for nurses.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frank, Bill (2000-05-07). "Why So Few?". The News Journal. p. 32. Retrieved 2020-05-20– via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "Jane and Littleton Mitchell Center for African American Heritage". Delaware Historical Society. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  3. 1 2 3 "In Memoriam Jane E. Mitchell". University of Delaware Archive. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  4. 1 2 3 Frank, Bill (1987-01-13). "Jane Mitchell, Notable Black Pioneer in Delaware". The Morning News. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-05-20– via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 Frank, Bill (1979-09-16). "A Fruitful Career Draws to a Close". The Morning News. p. 97. Retrieved 2020-05-20– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Jane Watson Mitchell Made Nursing Career a Vehicle for Justice". The News Journal. 1998-12-15. p. 22. Retrieved 2020-05-20– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Nurse Named 'Hero'". The News Journal. 2000-05-07. p. 32. Retrieved 2020-05-20– via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 Brown, Robin (2004-11-18). "Final Respects to Jane Mitchell". The News Journal. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-05-20– via Newspapers.com. and "Mitchell: 'She Was a Gift Beyond Compare'". The News Journal. 2004-11-18. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-05-20– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Center for African American Heritage". Delaware Historical Society. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.