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Mary N. Long papers

 Collection
Identifier: W062

Scope and Content of the Papers

Primarily correspondence, minutes and agendas, notes and writings, printed material including reports, and artifacts and ephemera make up the papers of Mary N. Long, 1957, 1965-2000. Materials relate to her employment at Grady Memorial Hospital and the Arthritis Foundation; to her service to the Georgia Nurses' Association, Georgia Nurses' Foundation, American Nurses Foundation, and other organizations; and to her work as an activist and community volunteer, including numerous speaking and training engagements as well as committee and board service. Long's political activism, state government service, and activity on behalf of the Georgia Democratic Party are also documented.

Some subjects and types of material may exist in multiple series. Records related to the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta are in Series I, III, and V. Speeches and presentations by Mary Long are documented in Series II-VII.

Dates

  • Creation: 1957, 1965-2000

Creator

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Georgia State University is the owner of the physical collection and makes reproductions available for research, subject to the copyright law of the United States and item condition. Georgia State University may or may not own the rights to materials in the collection. It is the researcher's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and obtain permission from the copyright holder before publication, reproduction, or display of the materials beyond what is reasonable under copyright law. Researchers may quote selections from the collection under the fair use provision of copyright law.

Biography of Mary N. Long

Nurse, activist, lobbyist, administrator, and pioneer, Mary Nathaniel Long was born in Guthrie, Kentucky, in 1941. She moved to Atlanta in 1960 to be trained at Grady Memorial Hospital's School of Nursing, from which she graduated in 1963. Following a brief marriage, Mary Long embarked on a distinguished career at the hospital. Starting as an ambulatory care nurse at Grady, she also gained extensive experience volunteering at Atlanta's free clinics and assisting local health organizations. In 1969, Grady Hospital, the cornerstone of the region's public health system, made an active effort to reach the greater Atlanta community by participating in Economic Opportunity Atlanta's health fairs. Mary Long was at the center of this effort, also helping to develop Grady's satellite clinics around that time. In 1971, Grady created a new department, Central Referral, which acted as a first contact and primary information resource for those unfamiliar with the hospital system, and as an advocate, assisting patients and families with policies and procedures so community members could receive the care they needed. Mary Long had developed the program, and was the first Coordinator of the Central Referral Department at Grady (her title later was Director of Community Health), a position she held until 1985.

While working at Grady, Long began her extensive career of service to the Georgia Nurses Association (GNA), and its philanthropic organization, Georgia Nurses Foundation (GNF). An active member and chairperson of GNA's Governmental Affairs Commission, Long gained extensive experience lobbying the Georgia legislature, especially over key Medical Practice Act legislation in 1980. In 1981, she was elected President of GNA, the first African American to hold the position. She served two terms as GNA president, until 1985. A member of the City of Atlanta's Homeless Task Force, Long was instrumental in the partnership between the city and the GNF that, in 1984, led to the establishment of Atlanta's first clinic for the homeless. GNF eventually operated two clinics for the homeless in Atlanta and one in Athens before transferring their operation to St. Joseph's Mercy Care Services in 1998. She was a GNF Board member and served as its president. Long remained active in GNA throughout her career, through memberships in committees and task forces, chairing GNA's Political Action Committee (GN-PAC), and serving her local GNA district, District 5.

In 1985, Long left Grady to take a position as Vice President for Legislative Affairs for the Arthritis Foundation, a national organization headquartered in Atlanta. In 1996, she was promoted to the Foundation's Group Vice-President for Public Policy and Advocacy, a position she held until 2002. At the foundation, Long coordinated lobbying and advocacy activities by supervising staff, overseeing the development of policy statements, and motivating and training staff and volunteers in chapters nationwide for involvement in the legislative process, both in their states and on the federal level. Long also was a figure on the nursing profession's national stage, occupying influential positions in the American Nurses Association (ANA) and American Nurses Foundation (ANF). She was twice elected to the ANA Board of Directors (in 1985 and 1987) and was elected ANA's Second Vice President in 1989. She served on numerous committees, task forces, and other ANA bodies, including, in 1990-1993, chairing the steering committee for ANA's "Nurses on the Move" Capital Campaign, which funded the move of the organization's headquarters from Kansas City to a new facility in Washington, D.C.

The first minority woman to lobby the Georgia General Assembly, Mary Long chaired GNA's political action committee, GNA-PAC, and later served on the board of directors of the national ANA-PAC. In 1985, she coauthored a chapter on state government for the book Political Action Handbook for Nurses. However, Long's engagement with politics was not limited to health care issues. Active in the movement to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in Georgia and Secretary of the group ERA Georgia, Inc., in 1979-1980, Long was the first minority woman to win the Mamie K. Taylor Award for Outstanding Contributions to Human Rights and Women's Equality from the Georgia Women's Political Caucus. She was the first treasurer of the caucus's political action committee. Long managed several campaigns for Atlanta and Fulton County elective offices in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and was a consultant to other candidates in Georgia. Appointed positions Long held included membership on the Georgia Judicial Nominating Committee, on which she was the first minority woman (1982-1998); the Georgia State Board of Architects (1979-1988), and the Georgia Women's Health Advisory Board (appointed 2000) and Minority Health Advisory Board (appointed 2002). Long served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in New York, 1992, and in 2005 became board chair of Georgia's WIN (Women In Numbers) List, a political action committee for Democratic women in the state.

In addition to her distinguished careers in health care and advocacy and to her political activity, Long has an extensive record of service to local, regional, and national groups, including being the first African-American president of the YWCA of Greater Atlanta and membership on the boards of numerous community organizations, including the Atlanta Food Bank, Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, and the Atlanta Women's Foundation. She is also an active member of her church, Atlanta's Trinity United Methodist. Numerous professional and community organizations have honored Long with awards, including the Atlanta Urban League's Distinguished Service Award (1985) and the Atlanta Women’s Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award (2005). Long was a torch bearer for the Olympics held in Atlanta in 1996. Her peers in Georgia nursing honored Mary Long's accomplishments by naming a professional award after her. GNA bestows the Georgia Nurses Foundation Mary N. Long Award for Innovations in Nursing Practice to "nursing pioneers who through their creative thoughts and actions, have made a difference for nurses and nursing in Georgia."

Extent

25.8 Linear Feet (in 47 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract:

Primarily correspondence, minutes and agendas, notes and writings, printed material including reports, and artifacts and ephemera make up the papers of nurse, administrator, and advocate Mary N. Long, 1957, 1965-2000. Materials relate to her employment at Grady Memorial Hospital and the Arthritis Foundation; to her service to the Georgia Nurses' Association, Georgia Nurses' Foundation, American Nurses Foundation, and other organizations; and to her work as an activist and community volunteer, including numerous speaking and training engagements as well as committee and board service. Long's political activism, state government service, and activity on behalf of the Georgia Democratic Party are also documented.

Organization of the Papers

Organized into seven series: I. Personal, 1957, 1965-1998; II. Grady Memorial Hospital, 1969-1987; III. Georgia Nurses Association/Georgia Nurses Foundation, 1975-2000; IV. American Nurses Association, 1976-1997; V. Arthritis Foundation, 1985-2000; VI. Organizations and Events Files, 1969-2000; VII. Political Activities, 1976-2000; VIII. Collected Material, 1977-1999, undated.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Mary N. Long, 2001.

Online Availability:

Several items have been digitized and are available online at Georgia State University Library Digital Collections.

Related Archival Materials

Related Materials in This Repository

Separated Materials Note

During processing, printed material was separated to the Women's Printed Collections and to the Southern Labor Archives Printed Collection.

Separated to Women's Printed Collection - Spec Books (see catalog for access)

  1. Audrey B. Davis, A Century of Caring: A Celebration of Public Health Nursing in the United States, 1893-1993 (Washington, D.C.: American Public Health Service, 1993?)
  2. Issues in Professional Nursing Practice [Parts 1-6] (Kansas City, Mo.: American Nurses’ Association, 1984-1985)
  3. Ruth N. Henley, One Boundless Reach . . . (Atlanta: Georgia State League for Nursing, 1967)
  4. Health for Women in the 21st Century (National Health Council)
  5. Nursing in Georgia 1975 (Statewide Master Planning Committee)
  6. Nursing Education in Georgia (Georgia Educational Improvement Council)

Separated to Women's Printed Collection - Pamphlets (See finding aid for access)

  1. 1983 Southeast Regional N.OW. Conference (National Organization for Women) [National Organization for Women--Southeast Region]
  2. Atlanta Attorney Wins Fight for legal Abortion (The Atlanta Constitution, 1986) [Abortion]
  3. The Earnings Gap Between Women and Men (U.S. Department of Labor) [Pay equity--United States]
  4. A Force for the Nation's Health (American Nurses' Association) [Nursing--United States]
  5. March and Rally for a Women's Right to Choose Abortion (Atlanta NOW, 1980) [Abortion]
  6. National Abortion Rights Action League Salutes Choice Delegates 1988 (National Abortion Rights Action League) [National Abortion Rights Action League]
  7. The National Nurse Survey (Service Employees International Union, 1993) [Nursing--United States--Statistics]
  8. The Nursing Shortage: Opportunities and Solutions (American Organization of Nurse Executives, 1990) [Nurses--Recruiting--United States]
  9. Pay Equity: Another Step Toward Equality (Georgia Pay Equity Coalition) [Pay Equity--United States]
  10. Phyllis Schlafly: Is There a presidential Timbre in the Anti-ERA Voice? (photocopy from Chicago, June 1978) [Schlafly, Phyllis]
  11. Preferred Placements Five (Mississippi Nurses' Association) [Nursing--Mississippi]
  12. Preparing for the Future: Questions and Answers About Trends in Nursing Education (American Nurses' Association) [Nursing--Study and teaching--United States]
  13. Questions and Answers on Nursing and Health Care Costs (American Nurses Association) [Nursing--United States]
  14. Ruth Hartley Moseley Memorial Women's Center (Ruth Hartley Moseley Memorial Women's Center) [Ruth Hartley Moseley Memorial Women's Center]
  15. Seventh Annual Georgia Women and the Law Conference (Georgia Women's Political Caucus) [Georgia Women's Political Caucus]

Separated to Women's Printed Collection - Periodicals (See catalog or finding aid for access)

  1. Civil Rights Digest, Spring 1974
  2. Fifth District Newsletter [Georgia Nurses' Association], 1976; 1980-1981
  3. Ms. Magazine, September/October 1992
  4. Nurses' Notes, 1980-1985
  5. The Political Report (NARAL) Special Convention Edition, July 21, 1988
  6. A Woman's Place, July 1980; November 1980
  7. Women's Political Reporter, December 1985; Summer 1987
  8. Women's Political Times, February 1980; Summer 1988

Separated to Southern Labor Archives Printed Collection - Periodicals (See finding aid or catalog for access)

  1. The American Nurse, 1980-1994
  2. Georgia Nursing, 1976-2000
  3. GMH/HSP Together, 1972-1982
  4. The Grady News, 1967-1972

Processing Information

All organization, including series designations and folder titles, created during processing. Processed by Mary McMahon Dawson and William W. Hardesty, 2005-2007.

A limited number of items in the papers were photocopied during processing, either because of their physical nature or in order to redact personal information so as to protect privacy.

Title
Mary N. Long:
Subtitle
A Guide to Her Papers at Georgia State University Library
Status
Completed
Author
Georgia State University Library
Date
4 June 2007
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
100 Decatur St., S.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404-413-2880
404-413-2881 (Fax)