Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden to Host Award-Winning Author in Celebration of Black History Month
Maria Smilios will discuss her book, “The Black Angels," which explores the role Black nurses played in curing tuberculosis
Camden, NJ – January 29, 2025: The Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden will welcome Maria Smilios for a reading and discussion of “The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis” in celebration of Black History Month.
The event will be held February 18 at 4 p.m. in the Rutgers–Camden Nursing & Science Building.
Smilios' book explores the journey of the young Black nurses who traveled from the South to New York City during the Great Depression to care for individuals with tuberculosis at the city’s municipal hospital after the white nursing workforce quit en masse. Despite being faced with appalling conditions and entrenched racism, this group of women spent more than 20 years caring for the desperately ill until a cure for tuberculosis was discovered.
The book won a 2024 Christopher Award, was shortlisted for the 2024 English PEN Hessell Tiltman Prize, and was named a Booklist Editor’s Choice. All students currently enrolled in the Rutgers–Camden nursing program are reading the book this semester as part of their curriculum.
Smilios teaches at the Columbia University School of Public Health and was recently honored by the city and state of New York for outstanding service and positive contributions to the people of New York.
About Rutgers University–Camden
Ranked #46 in U.S. News & World Report’s list of Best Public Colleges and Universities, Rutgers University–Camden is a diverse, research-intensive campus of approximately 5,700 students at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels and more than 1,500 faculty and staff members. Located in Camden, N.J., directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, the university is uniquely situated to serve the local community while achieving global reach. A U.S. Department of Education-eligible Minority Serving Institution, Rutgers–Camden thrives due to a supportive culture that helps students achieve their goals. Rutgers–Camden is recognized as a national model for civically engaged urban universities and was selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching for a Community Engagement classification. Washington Monthly magazine has ranked Rutgers University–Camden among its “Best Bang for the Buck” universities and best national universities. Rutgers–Camden holds Carnegie classification as an R2 research university due to a high volume of internationally recognized research, creative output, and scholarly activity.