Salaria Kea [SEP] conflict
Salaria Kea
Salaria Kea O'Reilly (born 13 July 1917 in Milledgeville, Georgia – died 18 May 1990 in Akron, Ohio) was an American nurse and desegregation activist who volunteered in both the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. During the Spanish Civil War she was the only African American nurse working in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion.
Early life.
Kea was born on 13 July 1917 in Milledgeville, Georgia. Her father was a gardener at the Ohio State Hospital for the Insane in Columbus where he was
nurses the Army was allowed to recruit. In the United States Kea and O’Reilly experienced strong racism. In Akron they experienced personal threats and property damage, and Kea often referred to her time in the International Brigades as the best days of her life since they were free from discrimination. After the war the O'Reilly family lived in New York, where Kea worked in several hospitals coordinating staff desegregation. In 1973 the couple retired to Akron where Kea died on 18 May 1990.
External links.
- "Salaria Kea: