As premised by my grandfather,
Ernest "
Ernie"
Moya, our family has a long standing history in the state of Colorado.
His father,
Ruben, was born in Trinidad in 1899 and was a machinist for Denver's former Morse Bros. Machinery Company.
My great grandmother,
Virginia, was what history refers to as a "chamber maid" at the time-honored Brown Palace in downtown Denver.
My grandfather, as well as his three siblings, were each baptized at St. Cajetan's Catholic Church in Denver. Which, oddly enough, has since been transformed into an events center on the tri-institutional Auraria Campus - the campus I inevitably graduated from.
But it was the other day as my grandpa and I were strolling about the city of Edgewater that he informed me of a very interesting family, as well as Denver-related, fact that I had not known before.
"Do you know who
Justina Ford was?" he asked me, attempting to remain audible over the winds.
"No," I responded.
"Well, Justina Ford was not only Denver's first female doctor, she was also Denver's first black female doctor," he said. "And, this is no fib: I was one of the babies she delivered."
Somewhere in my grandfather's plethora of old papers, forms and family photos lies his birth certificate signed by the illustrious Dr. Ford herself. And not only did she bring my grandfather into this world, she did so on July 4, 1936 - Independence Day. How wonderfully ironic.
February is Black History Month all across this nation. Here at
YourHub.com we would sincerely like to hear about what Black History Month means to you. Were you around at the time of Brown V. Board of Education? What did that landmark Supreme Court decision mean to you?
You can share your thoughts and stories with us by starting a blog on YourHub.com. Here you can write narratives of your own interest, write movie and book reviews as well as write some of those little anecdotes that pop into our heads every once and a while. All submissions are considered for our weekly print edition.
And, as always, chime in and share your thoughts with me. I hope to hear from you soon.
Kindly,
-Simon