Justina L. Ford (1871–1952) was a medical trailblazer and was the first licensed African American female doctor in the United States!
She was born in Knoxville, Illinois on January 22, 1871. As a child, she often accompanied her mother – a practical nurse – on her calls. Ford received her medical schooling from Chicago’s Hering Medical College in 1899 and moved to Denver in 1902.
Because of her race, she was not allowed to practice in a hospital and was denied membership into the Denver and Colorado medical associations. This did not stop her! She set up a practice in her Five Points home and served patients in that community for the rest of her life. She was determined to do whatever she could to take care of her patients, no matter who they were.
She specialized in gynecology, obstetrics and pediatrics and it is estimated that she delivered over 7,000 babies during her fifty years as a doctor in Denver. After she had been in practice for 33 years, she was able to become a member of the faculty at Denver General- but not practice there. She was finally admitted to the Denver and Colorado Medical Societies in 1950. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1985.