Martha Minerva Franklin

Martha Minerva Franklin (October 29, 1870 – September 26, 1968) was an African-American nurse, one of the first people to campaign for racial equality in nursing.

Early life Franklin was born in New Milford, Connecticut, to Mary E. Gauson and Henry J. Franklin. Her father had been a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War. Franklin graduated from Meriden Public High School in 1890 as one of few African American members of her class. Fifty-two nurses attended this first meeting to form the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) and Franklin was elected president. Three goals were set out in the initial meeting of the NACGN: improve training for black nurses, reduce racial inequality in the nursing profession, and cultivate leaders from within the black nursing community.

Career Franklin moved to New York City in 1928 and graduated from a six-month postgraduate course at Lincoln Hospital.