As we kick off the 75th anniversary of Recognizing Women in the Military (June 12 observance), the American Legion Department of Texas 5th District would like to celebrate Legionnaire Frankie Manning for having her name etched in history in the University of Washington School of Nursing renaming of its Center for Anti-Racism in Nursing to the Manning Price Spratlen Center for Anti-Racism & Equity in Nursing.

Frankie Manning, MSN, RN, fought for equity and created strategies and pipelines to diversify the nursing workforce.

Manning is known as a nurse devoted to public service and served in several roles within the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, on professional boards, as a faculty member for several academic nursing programs and through her service in the U.S. Army. She served on UW School of Nursing’s faculty search committees to broaden diversity recruitment. Manning was selected as the first nurse to serve on the King County Board of Health in 2003 and is a long-standing board member of the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Organization, which provides scholarships to students of African heritage pursuing degrees in nursing. In 2004, she was appointed by Gov. Locke to serve as board member for a three-year term on the Washington State Board of Health. She has been characterized by her nursing colleagues as a strong leader, visionary nurse, mentor, coach and guide. She exemplifies the same characteristics with her Legion family at Alvin Wheeler Post 292 in Dallas. She is also the sister of 5th District Commander W.S. ‘Big T’ Turner.

“What is inspirational to me is that the school of nursing has come a long way since 1949, when our organization – the Mary Mahoney Black Nurses Association — first started,” says Manning. “Back then they would not admit Black students to the school of nursing, which was a state-run school, so this gives me hope for the future to think that we’ve come from that part of our lives to the point where we have two Black nurses who the center of anti-racism is named for.”

Congratulations Legionnaire Mrs. Frankie Manning, MSN, RN.