Ford graduated from Chicago’s Hering Medical College in 1899 and practiced briefly in Alabama before coming to Denver in 1902; she specialized in gynecology, pediatrics and obstetrics. In her fifty-year career, she delivered almost 7,000 babies, many in her home but also where her patients lived. She treated anyone who needed care, often for trade instead of money, and served the communities that other doctors and hospitals turned their back on — communities of color, like the people living in Five Points.
In 1984, the circa 1890 house where Ford had moved in 1912 was moved from its original location at 2335 Arapahoe Street to 3091 California Street. The Black American West Museum was established there in 1988. Today the museum houses artifacts of Ford’s medical practice, as well as other displays.
Neambe Leadon, a member of the museum board’s advisory committee who works for Metro Caring, has been growing vegetables in the house's backyard for years. She thought the time was right to officially name the garden after Ford, and scheduled the ceremony on Ford’s birthday. Despite the bitter cold, the crowds came...although the celebration moved indoors.
Dr. Justina Ford, making her rounds in Five Points.
Black American West Museum
“I've worked at different organizations, and my focus has always been food and gardening and health, so I've been able to keep it moving,” Leadon said as people arrived for the celebration. “And so this actually has been inspired by different folks I've been able to meet and my own personal journey as a mother.”
Ford’s legacy resonates with Leadon because of her concerns about health care for African American women today. “I ended up having all my daughters at home unassisted due to fear of the high infant and maternal mortality, right? It's kind of just been a natural, organic progression of my learning more about the work of supporting women, and I’m currently in a doula program now," she said. "So this is inspired by Dr Justina Ford and what she overcame to become the first African American physician in Colorado in 1902. It's amazing how long ago that was, but also what we still face today: the biases that exist in our health-care system and the sad rates of infants and maternal mortality and just complications in general, and the bias that exists. And reproductive justice, too, as we see those rights being stripped away from women as well."
After Leadon’s remarks, members of the audience spoke up — and a handful had stories to tell about how Ford helped their own families, since she continued her practice until a couple of weeks before her death in 1952 at the age of 81.
Three men who attended the birthday party — Joseph E, Martinez, Charlie Juniel and his brother, Roderick Juniel, once the fire chief of Denver — were all birthed by Ford in their homes in Five Points. Also on hand were representatives of History Colorado and the Denver Public Library’s nearby Blair Caldwell African American Research Library.
The next step, Leadon promised, will come in spring, when the museum can hold a planting ceremony for the first crop in the Justina Ford Garden.
“Right now, we have some perennials in there: raspberry, elderberry, we have some comfrey," she noted. "So all three of those are really good for just medicinal purposes. And so the intention is to have another event in the spring, where we will actually plant some more herbs that are geared towards womb health and just overall health.”
She’ll also plant a plaque with the garden’s name in the ground – when it’s not frozen solid.
The Black American West Museum & Heritage Center, 3091 California Street, is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For information, call 720-242-7428 or go to bawmhc.org.
