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Virginia Allen, last living Black Angel, Inspires Nursing Grads
Virginia Allen speaks at the 2026 pinning ceremony
June 5, 2026
At 95, nurse Virginia Allen has lived through many defining events of the twentieth century, including the height of the tuberculosis (T.B.) epidemic. A member of a group of nurses later known as the Black Angels, she helped combat the disease. Allen, the last living Black Angel, recounted the story of their formation and resilience to Lehman’s latest class of nursing graduates at their 2026 pinning ceremony.
The Black Angels were a large cadre of African American and African Caribbean nurses recruited to Staten Island’s Seaview Hospital, the largest facility in the U.S. specializing in the care of T.B. patients, during the mid-twentieth century. Despite facing racial discrimination, the nurses and their families nevertheless helped to establish a strong African American community on Staten Island. Moreover, while working for low pay under dangerous conditions, they helped pioneer both a cure for the disease, and what is now known as palliative care.
Watch Allen’s address here.