African American Nursing Students at Howard University Photo Archive, 1920s–30s

[African American] [Medicine] African American nursing students at the historically all Black college of Howard University during the 1920s–30s. Archive comprises of 12 original sepia-toned photographs, the collection documents the presence of Black women and men in medical uniforms posed proudly in front of institutional buildings and faculty vehicles. Many of the photos were taken at or near Freedmen’s Hospital, the historically Black hospital affiliated with Howard University College of Medicine, long a center of medical education and care for African Americans during the Jim Crow era. Measurements range between 4.5" x 3.5" to 3.5" x 2.5". Most are candid or semi-posed outdoor scenes, revealing both the camaraderie and professional aspirations of the students. In one standout image, a Black male nurse in uniform stands with arms crossed beside a facility vehicle emblazoned with the word “HOSPITAL,” likely a reference to the Freedmen’s Hospital ambulance or transport van. Several other images show groups of women in nursing caps and aprons smiling in tight formations outside brick hospital buildings, suggesting graduation or cohort documentation. Historically, Howard University and its medical affiliates were among the few institutions where African Americans could receive formal medical training in the first half of the 20th century. Freedmen’s Hospital, established before the Civil War and later placed under Howard’s supervision, became a beacon for Black health care workers during a time when segregation barred them from most white hospitals. By the 1920s and 1930s, Black nursing students were rare and often excluded from national medical networks. These photographs thus offer vital visual testimony of Black professionalization in health care, HBCU-led educational access, and the gendered labor of care work under the constraints of segregation. Minor creasing, corner wear, and one chipped edge to a photo at the bottom right, black album page residue en verso implying these came from a photo album. Overall very good condition. A rare and visually rich photographic archive documenting Black medical training at a historic HBCU during the height of Jim Crow segregation. (Inventory #: 22116)