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Nurse Madie Maddox Smith
“Courage to lead when the odds and sabotage are against you — because of the color of your skin”
– Madie Maddox Smith
Mecklenburg County’s Inaugural Women’s Health Equity Institute to be Named After Mrs. Madie Maddox Smith, BS, MBA
Trailblazer Madie Maddox Smith was Mecklenburg County’s first certified child health specialist.
A Public Health Unsung Hero and First Black Public Health Nurse Supervisor
Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate and recognize the many achievements and contributions women have made in our community. The Mecklenburg County community honors Mrs. Madie Maddox Smith as a trailblazer, who has made significant contributions to the field of public health nursing. More than 50 years ago, Maddox Smith broke down a barrier in Mecklenburg County Public Health that marked the beginning of Black women advancing to leadership roles in the department.
Madie grew up in Charlotte, N.C. While in high school, she was hired at age 14 working in the Polio Unit at Charlotte’s segregated Memorial Hospital, but her first dream was to attend North Carolina A & T State University on a scholarship and become an artist. She was later encouraged by her mother to pursue an education in nursing, along with an offer to help pay for it.
In 1956, Madie earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, N.C. When she returned home, she worked for Mercy Hospital in a wing designated for Black patients and taught nursing at Good Samaritan Hospital, an allBlack hospital. She was encouraged by other Black nurses to apply for the County’s Health Department, but at that time, because the department was segregated, Black nurses were hired only when another Black nurse left their position.
Following the passing of another Black public health nurse, Madie was able to transfer from a position in Union County. To her knowledge, she was the only Black nurse with a Bachelor of Science degree. The department sent her to Duke University for training where she successfully completed a very competitive public health program that was designed for nurses with limited public health experience.
In the early 1970s, Madie became Mecklenburg County’s first certified child health specialist. She later went on to become the health supervisor for the North Team covering child health clinics. Before retiring, Madie became the de facto program chief for the department’s clinic in Huntersville. Although she performed the duties, she never received the title and compensation of that position.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Madie for her courage, sacrifices and the pathway she set to keep the most vulnerable healthy and to uplift other qualified women of color to serve in public health leadership roles.
In late March, Mecklenburg County Public Health, as a partner with several civic, community and academic organizations, will launch the Madie Maddox Smith Women’s Health Equity Institute to provide inclusive opportunities for women’s health (mind, body, spirit and emotional well-being), and to promote women’s empowerment over their health and well-being.
We honor Mrs. Madie Maddox Smith’s many contributions as a courageous Black woman, leading to advance upward mobility for Black women in public health, highlighting the strength and vibrancy of the African American community in the face of generations of systemic inequality and racism. P
– Madie Maddox Smith
