Zipporah Parks Hammond

Zipporah Parks Hammond (1924–2011) was the University of Colorado College of Nursing's first African-American graduate and the first Black Director of Medical Records in Colorado. She was a humanitarian, philanthropist, and civil-rights champion in Colorado.

Early life Zipporah "Zippy" Parks Hammond was born March 1, 1924, in Denver, Colorado, as the only child of William Edward Parks and Zipporah Marcella Joseph. She is a descendant of William Syphax and Maria Carter Syphax through her mother. Her mother was the first Black woman valedictorian at a Denver public high school. She died when Zipporah was 10 years old, and her illness and the community support they received influenced Zipporah's choice to be a nurse.

She attended Denver's Whittier Elementary, Morey Junior High, and Manual Training High Schools.

She joined the Cadet Nurse Corps when it was established in 1943, where she was the only Black nurse out of 1600 student nurses.

Her first position after graduating was as a surgical operating-room nurse at Colorado General Hospital.

Recognition Zipporah Parks Hammond Memorial Nursing Scholarship. Inducted into Blacks in Colorado Hall of Fame in 2022. CU College of Nursing Alumni Association - Pathfinders Award of Black women in Denver.