Dr. Justina Ford overcame prejudice and discrimination to become Colorado's first female African-American physician. Excluded from the medical establishment because she was a black woman, Dr. Ford was a pioneer in opening up the medical profession to black people and women in general. Known in her later years as the Baby Doctor for delivering an estimated 7,000 babies in her career, she practiced medicine tirelessly all her life, caring and showing great compassion for people from all backgrounds at a time when Colorado's poorest, immigrants, and people of color had little access to medicine. Her pioneering efforts as well as her humanitarian service to others makes Dr. Ford an extraordinary figure in Colorado and American history. 

Dr. Justina Ford practiced medicine until two weeks before her death on October 14, 1952, at the age of 81. A few months before her death, she reflected on her life's work and hoped for a better future: "When all the fears, hate, and even some death is over, we will really be brothers as God intended us to be in this land. This I believe. For this I have worked all my life."

Newspaper photo of Dr. Justina Ford from The Denver Star, Number 19, June 17, 1939

Justina Ford - CHNC The Denver Star, Number 19, June 17, 1939.JPG

Plains to Peaks Collective

Image of Dr. Justina Ford

Died

After a brief stint practicing in Alabama, where it became to clear that her career would suffer because of her race, Dr. Ford headed west hoping for more opportunities. Dr. Justina Ford and her husband Reverend John L. Ford moved to the Five Points Neighborhood of Denver, the center of the African-American population in Colorado at that time. Although she still faced barriers due to her race and gender, she said, "I fought like a tiger against those things." 

She joked of this time later in her life, "I tell folks I came to Denver in time to help them build Pikes Peak, and it's almost the truth." 

Historic map of Five Points area of Denver, Colorado.

five points map.png

Robinson Atlas of the City of Denver (Plate 15)

Move to Denver, Fighting for Her Place

Dr. Ford still faced discrimination in Colorado. Notably, when she applied for her medical license she was told by the clerk, "I feel dishonest taking a fee from you. You've got two strikes against you to begin with. First of all, you're a lady, and second, you're colored." 

Although the license was granted, she still had to contend with gender and racial barriers. Black people were not allowed to work in hospitals at that time, and neither were they allowed to become members of any of the local or national medical associations. Dr. Ford began her medical practice in Denver by making house calls, first in a horse and buggy, and later in a car. She resorted to setting up her own practice, which she operated out of her house at 2026 Arapahoe Street. It wasn't too long before she became well known in Denver and was nicknamed "The Lady Doctor," which was meant to be an affectionate nickname.  

Not only were people of color barred from working in hospitals, many hospitals refused even to treat them at this time. However, Dr. Ford didn't discriminate between her patients and she remarked: "Folks make an appointment and whatever color they turn up, that's the color I take them."



Dr. Ford's advertisement for her office and residence at 2026 Arapahoe Street, Denver, Colorado. From The Statesman, Volume 19, September 13, 1907.

ford 2.jpg

Newspaper Advertisement of Dr. Justina Ford's Medical Practice

"The Lady Doctor" Gains Her Colorado Medical License

Dr. Ford practiced medicine all her life, only stopping about two weeks before her death. Dr. Ford delivered around 7,000 babies during her career, earning her the nickname "the Baby Doctor," and many of those she delivered called themselves members of the "Justina Baby Club." 

For more than half a century, Dr. Justina Ford provided medical help to immigrants, African-Americans and other people of color, as well as poor white people. She treated her patients without the expectation of payment, knowing that they appreciated her work and would pay when they could, and often accepting goods such as knitted blankets in return for her services. She learned many languages and dialects to better serve her patients and she sometimes went beyond medicine to buy groceries or otherwise help those struggling in poverty.

Photograph of an impoverished man in front of a shack in Petertown, the northern "suburb" of Denver

Asset 2-100.jpg

Photograph of Petertown, the northern "suburb" of Denver

Dr. Ford Stops Practicing Medicine Due to Poor Health

Justina Laurena Warren was born in 1871 in Knoxville, Illinois. Her parents were free, but had previously been enslaved. Her mother was a midwife and nurse. From a young age, Justina showed a great interest in the medical profession, often accompanying her mother on house calls. She is quoted as saying about her siblings: "I wouldn't play with the others unless we played hospital, and I wouldn't play even that unless they let me be the doctor."


Born

Dr. Ford's contributions have never been fully appreciated. But, although she is by no means a household name, recognition has been slowly improving, especially locally, beginning in 1985 when she was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. The Colorado Medical Society passed a resolution in 1989 honoring her posthumously, "as an outstanding figure in the development and furtherance of health care in Colorado." A branch of the Denver Public Library was renamed the Warren-Ford Branch, and the University of Colorado established the Dr. Justina Ford Medical Society. As of early 2022, construction was completed on the Dr. Justina Ford Elementary school in Littleton, Colorado. The people of Colorado still remember her to this day and draw inspiration from her determinedness and courage in the face of inequity. 

Members of the Dr. Justina Ford Medical Society meeting in Denver, Colorado. Seated (L-R): Dr. Edmund, Noel, Dr. Raymond Piper, Dr. John H. Bookhart, and Dr. Clarence Phillips. Standing (L-R): [unidentified], Dr. Thomas Hickman, Dr. James Mann, Dr. Benjamin Clark, Dr. Bernard F. Gipson, and Dr. Henry Cooper.


Members of the Dr. Justina Ford Medical Society.jpg

Members of the Dr. Justina Ford Medical Society

Posthumous Honors 

It took approximately fifty years for the Denver Medial Society and the Colorado Medical Society to accept Dr. Ford as a member, by which time she was almost 80, having reportedly applied for membership on a yearly basis throughout her life. Her lack of membership in these white male dominated societies during her career meant that, aside from being excluded from the rest of her professional peers, she was not accredited to practice in Denver's hospitals. These factors required her to forge her distinguished career as a private practitioner. It was only when racial boundaries began to erode in the mid-20th century that the professional medical societies allowed her to become a member. Black physicians were still extremely rare in Colorado. As of 1950, Denver had only five black doctors, and Dr. Ford was still the sole black woman doctor. 

Slowly, Dr. Ford began to receive recognition for her extraordinary career. Also in 1950, she was awarded the Human Rights Award by the Denver Cosmopolitan Club. 

Studio portrait of the founders of the Denver Medical Society. They are identified as: Burns, Fisk, Rivers, W.H. Williams, L.E. Lemen, Edson, Stedman, Dennison, Burns, H.A. Lemen, Wilson, Moore, Steele, J.C. Davis and F.J. Bancroft. They all wear dark suits with stiff collared shirts and either ties or bow ties.


Founders of Denver Medical Society.jpg

Founders of Denver Medical Society

Dr. Ford is Accepted into Medical Associations, Receives Award

Justina attended Hering Medical School in Chicago where she studied obstetrics, pediatrics, and gynecology. Hering was established in 1892 as a homeopathy college and, unusually for the day, the school admitted both men and women. At that time, the medical profession was dominated by white men. Women (mostly white women) were generally limited to nursing roles. Justina from a young age had always wanted to be a doctor and was determined to make a place for herself, despite the racial and gender barriers she faced. 

Photograph of doctors and nurses of the Arapahoe County Hospital, Denver

Asset 1-100.jpg

1896, Doctors and Nurses - Arapahoe County Hospital, Denver

Graduation from Medical School

The Colorado newspaper The Statesman reported on June 3, 1911:

"LARGE HOUSE PURCHASED. 

Dr. Justina Ford has purchased the ten-room brick house situated at 2335 Arapahoe street. It is a modern house of pleasing appearance and excellent arrangement. The doctor will continue to live and have her office as at present, at 2347 Arapahoe street. This is the largest purchase made recently by a member of the race. The price is understood to be near $5,900. It has a barn in the rear."

This new house would become Dr. Ford's medical practice for the remainder of her career. Later in the century the building was saved from demolition and moved to what is now the location of the Black American West Museum & Heritage Center. 

Newspaper photo and caption of Dr. Justina Ford's Practice at 2335 Arapahoe St., Denver. From The Denver Star, July 1, 1918.

Standards for Dr. Justina L. Ford - Colorado's First Black Woman Doctor

Common Core - English Language Arts