Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Organization

Mending the Scars

THE DAILY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

Nick Koveshnikov
2001-11-28
Reprinted with permission

As she was listening to an apology for past policies practiced by the UW School of Nursing, Lois Price Spratlen, University ombudsman, broke into tears.

The apology was being read by Dean Nancy Woods of the School of Nursing, following a presentation of Price Spratlen's book, African-American Registered Nurses in Seattle, Tuesday evening in Hogness Auditorium at the UW Health Sciences Center.

"I see evidence," read Woods, "that we discouraged African-Americans from applying to school."

Price Spratlen's book describes the experiences of 26 black nurses who lived in Seattle during the 1940s and '50s, and their struggles with racial segregation and intolerance as they studied and worked in Seattle universities and hospitals.

"I accept this apology," responded Price Spratlen, adding, "I can say this: we are willing to work and we are willing to forgive."

Price Spratlen talked about the racial barriers encountered by applicants to the School of Nursing and local hospitals such as Harborview. She compared the salaries of black nurses to their white coworkers; at that time black nurses received a monthly pay of $90, while white nurses received $150.

Members of the audience, many of who were actual characters in the book and their immediate families, nodded as Price Spratlen reminded them about mice and cockroaches inside nurses' living complexes.

"Many people say, 'This didn't happen in Seattle, this was in the South,'" said Price Spratlen during her presentation. "I am sorry -- this did happen in Seattle."

Thirteen women from the book formed the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Organization, designed to support diversity and black students. Proceeds from the book will go to that endowment, said Price-Sprantlen.

Audience members responded with standing ovations as Price-Sprantlen embraced Woods after she read her letter. "I was surprised," said Muriel Softli, a black nurse for the Seattle Public School system. "It means a whole lot more to some of the older nurses. It's a nice gesture to put a close on [their] experience."

Softli came to UW in 1958 and had no problem getting in because of trailblazers who came before her, who were already at Harborview and UW, she said. Her experience is recorded in the book, which she considers an important document for younger people.

"I think it will make it easier for the school to recruit young people into department," she said.

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