Miss Bessie Crocker

Indianapolis Recorder
November 11, 1939

First Colored Nurse Goes to Glenn Dale
Washington --- The fight waged by the Washington Tribune and several civic organizations to have colored nurses appointed at Glenn Dale Sanitorium bore fruit, last week, when Miss Bessie Crocker, graduate nurse from Suffolk, Virginia began her duties at the tuberculosis hospital, this week, as the first colored nurse to be assigned at Glenn Dale.

Miss Crocker completed her work at Freedman's Hospital in 1931. Since that time she has worked on private cases and at the time of her appointment, was a nurse in the Alexandria, Virginia Hospital. She resigned several days ago to accept the Glenn Dale appointment. Miss Crocker had worked in the Alexandria Hospital for about two years. She later passed successfully a Civil Service examination and other tests in connection with the position at Glenn Dale.

When the announcement was made several weeks ago that colored nurses would be eligible for appointment to the municipally supported institution a wave of protest went up from sixty white nurses at the hospital on the grounds that no separate accommodations are provided for colored nurses at the institution.

At the present Miss Crocker lives in the employees quarters and not in the nurses' home.

Other colored nurses are expected to be appointed later, the District Health Department disclosed, this week.

Sources: Hoosier State Chronicles (Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program