The vital need for nursing labor came to the fore again during Philadelphia’s 1793 yellow fever epidemic. Benjamin Rush, among others, promoted the false belief that Black people could not contract yellow fever. As a result, the Free African Society organized comprehensive care for fever victims – nursing the sick, transporting patients, burying the dead, cleaning streets, and providing medical treatment. In the aftermath, these Black nurses were accused by some, like pamphleteer Matthew Carey, of extortion and overcharging. Black community leaders Absalom Jones and Richard Allen responded with a publication that highlighted the individual Black nurses who had risked their lives caring for fever victims.
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Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, "A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia," p.12, (1794). Source: The Library of Congress.
Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, "A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia," p.11, (1794). Source: The Library of Congress.
Plate 4. A series of color plates depicting the stages of yellow fever. Etienne Pariset (1770-1847), Observations sur la fièvre Jaune, faites à Cadix, en 1819, Paris: Audot (1820). Source: Wellcome Collection.
Plate 3. A series of color plates depicting the stages of yellow fever. Etienne Pariset (1770-1847), Observations sur la fièvre Jaune, faites à Cadix, en 1819, Paris: Audot (1820). Source: Wellcome Collection.
Plate 2. A series of color plates depicting the stages of yellow fever. Etienne Pariset (1770-1847), Observations sur la fièvre Jaune, faites à Cadix, en 1819, Paris: Audot (1820). Source: Wellcome Collection.
Plate 1. A series of color plates depicting the stages of yellow fever. Etienne Pariset (1770-1847), Observations sur la fièvre Jaune, faites à Cadix, en 1819, Paris: Audot (1820). Source: Wellcome Collection.
Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, "A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia," p.4, (1794). Source: The Library of Congress.
Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, "A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia," p. A2, (1794). Source: The Library of Congress.
Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, "A Narrative of the Proceedings of the Black People, During the Late Awful Calamity in Philadelphia," Title Page (1794). Source: The Library of Congress.
