Understanding history means teaching and learning the big picture as well as the details. We will never have a thorough understanding of history if it is only seen through the lens of one perspective. We need to teach and learn history through multiple perspectives. Keeping someone’s story from being heard keeps everyone ignorant and prevents the truth from being told.

February is Black History Month in the United States. This was created to bring attention to the contributions of African Americans because the contributions of African Americans are far too often overlooked and ignored in our classrooms and society as a whole. We can use this opportunity to learn about some people who should be recognized for their courage and contribution specifically in our state of Colorado.

Justine L. Ford graduated from Hering Medical College in Chicago, Illinois, in 1899. According to the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame’s website when she came to Denver about two years later she learned that Denver General Hospital did not admit Black patients or Black physicians.

Dr. Ford treated all patients no matter their color or where they came from. She set up an office in her home in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver, according to the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. She specialized in gynecology, obstetrics, and pediatrics. It is said that she delivered over 7,000 babies in her career.

Dr. Ford was the first licensed African American female physician in the state of Colorado. The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame says that she was admitted to the Denver and Colorado Medical Societies in 1950. This was two years before her death. Dr. Ford’s former house now is a museum, the Black American West Museum & Heritage Center. There is also an elementary school in Littleton, Colorado, named in her honor.

Barney Ford (no relation to Dr. Justine Ford) was born into slavery. According to historycolorado.org, he escaped slavery in South Carolina when he was in his late teens via the Underground Railroad. To show how determined and strong in spirit Barney Ford was even as a boy, he taught himself how to read and write while enslaved. This was illegal and extremely risky.

Ford and his wife came to Colorado looking to get rich from the gold rush in 1860. They built successful businesses in Denver and Breckenridge. He built luxury hotels and restaurants. He invested in mines. They also had some failures, but they always persevered.

In Breckenridge (according to historycolorado.org) Ford’s life was threatened and he was chased out in the middle of the night. Ford was a very successful businessman, but he also had to face racial discrimination. Ford’s home in Breckenridge is now a museum dedicated to him.

Barney Ford was politically active. He was against Colorado statehood because there was an amendment to the constitution that barred Black men from voting. He fought for equal education for all children and helped start a school for African American children. He believed in a more equitable education and life for African American and used his financial success to help others.

Barney Ford has been inducted into the Colorado Black Hall of Fame and the Colorado Business Hall of Fame. Ford has also been honored with a stained glass window with his likeness at the Colorado State Capitol building.

This article only mentions two African Americans who helped shape early Colorado history. So many others also persevered under racial discrimination and hate. Let’s not forget the KKK had a strong presence in Denver and through Colorado.

Learning and remembering the stories of Dr. Justine Ford and Barney Ford gives us another perspective of history. It gives us more pieces of the beautiful mosaic that we are. It hopefully opens our minds to know that there are so many more stories out there like this. We just have to be willing to see them and understand how valuable they are for having knowledge of the truth.