Esther McCready
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Esther McCready | |
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| Born | January 10, 1931 |
| Died | September 2, 2020 (aged 89) Randallstown, Maryland, U.S. |
| Known for | Nursing, Desegregation |
Esther McCready (January 10, 1931 – September 2, 2020)[1] was a nurse and teacher who desegregated the University of Maryland School of Nursing in 1950.[2] The case was filed in 1949 in Baltimore City Court by National Association for the Advancement of Colored People lawyers Charles Hamilton Houston and Donald Gaines Murray[3] (McCready v. Byrd, 1949). After the court sided with the university, the case went to the Maryland Court of Appeals, where it was argued by Houston, Murray, and Thurgood Marshall.[4] The lower court's ruling was overturned by the Maryland Court of Appeals, and McCready began classes on September 5, 1950.[5] She is in the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.
After she graduated in 1953,[6] McCready continued her career working for Druid Health Center, Morgan State University as head nurse, Cornell Medical Center in post-operative recovery, Harlem Hospital in the emergency room, and at New York University. Her career also included years as a general education teacher in public school in New York. In addition to nursing, McCready attended the Manhattan School of Music, where she earned a master's degree. She participated in traveling opera groups who toured around United States and Europe.[7]
