St. Agnes Hospital
Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
St. Agnes. Hospital. First nursing school in N.C. for African Americans, 1896-1961. Founded by Sarah Hunter. Building four blocks N.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Founded by Sarah Hunter, St. Agnes Hospital operated the first nursing school in North Carolina for African Americans from 1896 to 1961. In a segregated era that barred Black students from most training, it opened a professional path in medicine and gave Black communities skilled caregivers of their own. Its graduates served across the South for more than six decades.
Why it matters
Black hospitals and nursing schools were vital institutions under segregation, training the professionals a divided nation refused to educate elsewhere and building Black medical self-reliance.
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Related people
- · Sarah Hunter
Themes & tags
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