91, died February 20 at her home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Carnegie was a pioneer in nursing education, nursing and organizational administration, and nursing history. She led struggles to eliminate discrimination in professional nursing in the United States.
In 1937, while a student at New York's Lincoln School for Nurses, Carnegie vowed to do everything she could to change the system and destroy the barriers that were keeping black nurses out of nursing. Carnegie served as dean and professor in nursing programs across the country. In the 1940s, Carnegie started the first baccalaureate nursing program in Virginia, at Hampton University.
During her tenure as dean at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Carnegie fought alongside the state's black nurses to gain a voice and a vote for black nurses in the Florida State Nurses' Association. One year later she joined the association's board, becoming the first black board member of any state association. Carnegie supported minority nurses' education through the Estelle Massey Osborne and M. Elizabeth Carnegie Scholarships. She also served on the staff of AJN.
Carnegie documented and publicized the contributions of black nurses in her book, The Path We Tread: Blacks in Nursing Worldwide, as well as in more than 94 journal articles and editorials, 23 book chapters, and more than 300 speeches and presentations. She received eight honorary doctorates, 11 distinguished professorships, and two endowed chairs. Carnegie was the first black president of the American Academy of Nursing and was inducted into the American Nurses Association's Hall of Fame.
Marie O. Pitts Mosley, EdD, RN, PNP