Call Box Restoration

Mabel Keaton Staupers, RN was a nurse, activist, and recipient of the prestigious Spingarn Medal from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which recognizes African-Americans who have significantly contributed to uplifting the needs of the African-American community. She was born in Barbados in 1890 and immigrated to the United States in 1903, growing up in New York City. In 1917 Mabel attended Freedman’s Hospital School, now part of Howard University, where she earned her nursing degree. She returned to New York, establishing the Booker T. Washington Sanatorium in Harlem with Dr. Louis T. Wright and Dr. James Wilson, treating Tuberculosis patients. This led to her studying the healthcare needs of Harlem residents and the creation of the Harlem Committee of the New York Tuberculosis and Health Association, where she served as the organization’s first executive secretary for twelve years. Mabel served as the Executive Secretary for the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN).To combat the quotas in place for the number of African American nurses that could serve in the Army and Navy during WWII Mabel organized a letter writing campaign, leading to a direct meeting with Eleanor Roosevelt. The discriminatory policy was repealed in 1945 and Black nurses were allowed to freely enlist in the military. She returned to Washington, DC where she died at the age of 99 in 1989.

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a feminist, suffragist, prisoner of war, surgeon, and the only woman (to date) to receive the Medal of Honor. Dr. Walker grew up in New York and graduated with a doctor of medicine degree from Syracuse Medical College in 1855. At the beginning of the Civil War, Dr. Walker tried to join the Union Army, but was denied commission as a medical officer. She served as an unpaid volunteer surgeon at the U.S. Patent Office Hospital in the District, and later as an unpaid field surgeon, eventually becoming the first female U.S. Army surgeon. In 1864 she was detained as a prisoner of war after crossing lines in an effort to treat civilians. Not only did her choice of profession challenge the social mores of the time, but her style of wearing pants with her skirts, and later only pants suits, was a constant battle that lead to multiple arrests. She was active in the suffrage movement, attempting to vote in 1871 and in the early 20^th century testifying before Congress in support of women’s suffrage. She died in her home in 1919, and was buried in her black suit.

Eastern Dispensary was founded in 1888 at B and 3rd Streets SE. It was a fully staffed hospital, created with public funds, to provide care solely for those unable to pay for treatment. On April 7, 1905, the hospital, then named Eastern Dispensary and Casualty Hospital, moved to 708 Massachusetts Avenue NE. Over the years, further structures were added to the grounds, and the hospital was renamed several times.