Ford, Justina Laurena Carter
1871-1952 · Contribution: 1902
First African-American woman to earn a medical license in Colorado
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Practiced medicine in Denver for nearly 50 years despite being barred from local hospitals because of her race and gender, delivering an estimated 7,000 babies over her career, often making house calls personally.
Life & background
A physician, Ford became the first African-American woman licensed to practice medicine in Colorado in 1902. Barred from practicing in local hospitals due to discrimination, she built a five-decade career delivering babies and treating patients of all backgrounds via house calls throughout Denver, delivering an estimated 7,000 babies in total.
Sources
- NLM Changing the Face of Medicine; Colorado Encyclopedia; Colorado Women's Hall of Fame
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