Salaria Kea O’Reilly (1913–1990) was brought up by her three brothers after her father was killed and her mother had to work away from home. She was an American nurse and desegregation activist who became the only African American nurse to serve with the Abraham Lincoln Battalion during the Spanish Civil War. Despite facing racism and rejection in the U.S., she fought segregation in hospitals, volunteered in Spain where she met her husband John O’Reilly, and later became one of the first Black nurses admitted to the U.S. Army during World War II. She published her Spanish memoir While Passing Through (1938), toured widely to share her experiences, and continued advocating for desegregation in healthcare until her retirement, later being honored in documentaries for her service and activism.