On August 23, 1908, Martha Minerva Franklin led 52 African American nurses in founding the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN) in New York City. This organization aimed to eliminate racial discrimination in the nursing profession and promote the professional development of Black nurses.

Franklin, the only Black graduate in her 1897 nursing class at the Women’s Hospital Training School for Nurses in Philadelphia, recognized the need for a separate organization to address the challenges faced by Black nurses. Under her leadership, the NACGN worked to improve training, reduce racial inequality, and develop leadership within the Black nursing community.

The NACGN played a pivotal role in advocating for racial equality in nursing, and in 1951, it merged with the American Nurses Association, achieving many of its original goals.