Viola Edwards: A Nurse’s Stand in the Jim Crow South

In 1924, Viola Edwards opened Pensacola’s first maternity hospital for Black women—bringing care, dignity, and hope to a community long denied both. But just a year later, her efforts were met with violence, as Jim Crow retaliation reduced her hospital to ashes. Still, she refused to back down. This is the story of a nurse who stood her ground, determined to protect the lives of Black mothers and children. Watch more to learn how her legacy endured.