The Heberden Society presents Ashley Graham-Perel, EdD, MS, RN, CNE

When the Walls Came Down: The Interrelationships between Nursing, Race, and Medicine at New York’s Lincoln School for Nurses, 1898–1961

Please join the Heberden Society on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 5 PM EST for "When the Walls Came Down: The Interrelationships between Nursing, Race, and Medicine at New York’s Lincoln School for Nurses, 1898–1961."

When the walls came down, the intertwined structures of nursing, race, and medicine in the United States were fundamentally redefined. This lecture investigates the historical trajectory of New York’s Lincoln School for Nurses, the first institution established to educate Black women in the arts of nursing, and situates it within the broader framework of racial segregation and integration in American healthcare. Lincoln School for Nurses functioned as both a site of professional empowerment and racial uplift during a period of systemic exclusion. Following Brown v. Board of Education (1954), integration efforts paradoxically expanded educational access while contributing to the closure of historically Black nursing schools, including Lincoln in 1961. Through this historical lens, the lecture interrogates how integration transformed the boundaries of race and profession in nursing, illuminating both the advancement and erasure it produced within American healthcare.

Dr. Ashley Graham-Perel, EdD, MS, RN, CNE, is an Assistant Professor, Director of the Office of Engagement and Community Affairs, and historian at Columbia University School of Nursing. She holds an EdD from Teachers College, Columbia University, an MS in Nursing Education from NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, and a BS in Nursing from NYC College of Technology. Triple certified in Medical-Surgical Nursing, Nursing Professional Development, and as a Certified Nurse Educator, she brings deep expertise to advancing equity in nursing. Her research explores the intersections of race, nursing education, and healthcare disparities, with a focus on the training of Black nurses and the legacy of institutions like the Lincoln School for Nurses. She researches and disseminates Black nursing history through oral histories and multimedia productions. Dr. Graham-Perel bridges academia and community to shape a more inclusive, historically grounded healthcare workforce.

This is a hybrid lecture, co-sponsored by the New York Academy of Medicine. Onsite attendance will be in the Belfer Building, 413 E69 St, Room 204-A. Virtual registration is availble here.