The City of Hampton dedicated a Heritage marker in recognition of three nurses who in 1963 risked their careers to protest segregation at a local hospital.
The black nurses, known as The Dixie Three — Mildred Smith, Patricia Taylor and Agnes Stokes — chose to eat lunch in the hospital cafeteria that was deemed for “whites only,” rather than in the small room in the basement for African-American staff members.
Their protest, which mirrored similar acts happening across the South, led to a court battle that was ultimately settled in their favor.
Smith died in 2013, but the other two nurses, now Patricia McKenzie and Agnes Chrisman, attended the ceremony dedicating the marker.
The marker is located at the former hospital site, now Hunter B. Andrews PreK-8 School, at 3120 Victoria Blvd.
“Often history is made quietly, gradually, by ordinary men and women whose names are not known beyond their hometowns. … These three ladies made a profound statement with the simple act of sitting down to eat,” Hampton Mayor Jimmy Gray said.
A locally produced documentary about The Dixie Three will be screened at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk on Feb. 22 as part of the celebration of Black History Month.
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Chris Graham
