07/26/2026
Thank you 🙏🏽
Happy Black Nurses Week®
To every Black nurse…
This week is for you.
For the times you had to prove yourself before anyone believed in your knowledge.
For the moments your expertise was questioned, your leadership overlooked, or your voice dismissed.
For every shift where you carried more than your patients.
You carried expectations.
You carried stereotypes.
You carried the responsibility of representing an entire community while still trying to care for yourself.
Yet you showed up.
You advocated.
You comforted.
You led.
You healed.
Your story matters.
Your sacrifices matter.
Your excellence matters.
And your legacy matters.
Black Nurses Week® begins today because on August 1, 1879, Mary Eliza Mahoney became the first Black professional nurse to graduate from a nursing program in the United States. At a time when opportunities for Black nurses were limited by discrimination, she persevered and opened doors that many believed would remain closed.
Your story is now part of that same legacy.
Black Nurses Week® is more than a celebration.
It is a reminder that history did not make room for Black nurses. Black nurses made history anyway.
Now it’s our turn to preserve that legacy, strengthen it, and leave it better than we found it.
Happy Black Nurses Week®.
May this week remind you that you belong, your work matters, and your legacy is still being written.
