Claudia Durham Collection
Title
Claudia Durham Collection
Subject
Durham, Claudia, 1908-1995
Nurses
African American nurses
Medical care
Hospitals
Provident Hospital (Chicago, Ill.)
Provident Hospital (Chicago, Ill.). School of Nursing
African Americans
Description
Claudia Durham was born in rural Mississippi on October 26, 1908. She attended elementary school in Mississippi (1916-1922) and high school and junior college in Chicago after her family moved to Illinois in 1923. She received her diploma from Provident Hospital School of Nursing in 1933 and degrees in Public Health Nursing from Loyola University (B.S. 1942) and in Administration and Supervision from the University of Chicago (M.S., 1954). Ms. Durham attended Tuskegee Nurse-Midwifery School in Alabama and did graduate coursework at Illinois Teachers College (1958-1965) and Roosevelt University (1965).
Her forty-five year professional career included positions as staff and public health nurse, nursing school teacher/supervisor, consultant in maternal and child health and in personal and public service occupations, elementary/adult education teacher and librarian. She worked at such private and public organizations as nurse midwifery schools, Chicago Department of Health, U.S. Children’s Bureau, National League for Nursing, Illinois State Board of Vocational Education and Rehabilitation and the East Central Curriculum Management Center. Ms. Durham retired from the Illinois Office of Education in June 1978. She worked briefly on an educational research project at Eastern Illinois University, July 1978-June 1979. She was active in several community and religious organizations including: Senior Learners Program, Sangamon State University, American Nurses Association, NAACP, Springfield Urban League, Gray Panthers, Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, and Project Area Agency on Aging. Divorced with no children, Durham died March 22, 1995.
Photographs in this collection include images of African American nurses at work, family photographs, and portraits.
Her forty-five year professional career included positions as staff and public health nurse, nursing school teacher/supervisor, consultant in maternal and child health and in personal and public service occupations, elementary/adult education teacher and librarian. She worked at such private and public organizations as nurse midwifery schools, Chicago Department of Health, U.S. Children’s Bureau, National League for Nursing, Illinois State Board of Vocational Education and Rehabilitation and the East Central Curriculum Management Center. Ms. Durham retired from the Illinois Office of Education in June 1978. She worked briefly on an educational research project at Eastern Illinois University, July 1978-June 1979. She was active in several community and religious organizations including: Senior Learners Program, Sangamon State University, American Nurses Association, NAACP, Springfield Urban League, Gray Panthers, Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, and Project Area Agency on Aging. Divorced with no children, Durham died March 22, 1995.
Photographs in this collection include images of African American nurses at work, family photographs, and portraits.
Collection Items
Woman in a Black Dress
An unidentified woman wearing a black dress with a bow at the back of her neck poses for a portrait.
Woman Wearing a Pearl Necklace
An unidentified woman wears a pearl necklace for her portrait session.
National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN)
Six members of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses pose for a group photo at the 1940 annual meeting held in Los Angeles. Martha M. Franklin founded the organization in 1908. The first annual meeting took place in Boston in 1909.
Woman Wearing Pearls
An unidentified woman wearing a pearl and lace pin on her suit poses for a portrait.
Elden
Elden poses for a portrait while wearing his Navy uniform hat.On verso: "Taken when he was home on leave from Navy 1 time. 6 years ago. He was my oldest boy."
Howland School Second Grade Class
Students in Howland School's grade 2B pose for a class photo at the end of the 1959 school year. Claudia Durham served as the teacher for this class.
Election Polling Place
A man and a woman pose for a photo while standing in front of a voting booth. The photograph is autographed, "To my friend Adeline Jenkins from John J. Jones - Democrat Committeeman."
Two Women Take a Break
Two women sit in a bedroom relaxing. The woman on the right is reading while the woman on the left is playing with a cat.On verso: "Tuskegee, Alabama School of Midwifery; 1945-1946; Last Class; Susie Thompson; Jacksonville, Florida."
Nurses with Infant Display
Three nurses stand around a display which includes an infant in a makeshift baby bed, a model house, and a tray with baby bottles. A sign on the wall to the right of the picture discusses safe maternity care.
Nursery
Two nurses examine infants in a nursery. On verso: "Persons not serving in the nursery may look at the babies only through closed glass doors. The heated crib in the corner is the type in which the baby's head is not covered. The requisite space…
Provident Hospital Nursing Staff
Provident Hospital nurses gather for a group photo. Provident Hospital was the first hospital in America owned and operated by African Americans.
Nurse with Patient and Family
A nurse takes notes during a conversation with a female patient lying in a hospital bed. A baby lies next to the woman in the bed while a man stands next to them.
Collection Tree
- Illinois Photographic Collection
- Claudia Durham Collection