HBCU Facts and Classic Photos

April 1, 1950, Dr. Charles Richard Drew and three colleagues set out for the John A. Andrew Hospital annual free clinic in Tuskegee. (Drew rarely missed the week-long clinic, which had provided unparalleled teaching and learning opportunities for both Black and white physicians since 1912.)
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Near Burlington, driving fast, Drew fell asleep at the wheel. He woke as the car ran off the road, but over-corrected trying to pull it back on course. The car rolled several times, tossing one passenger free.
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Drew was half out of the car, his right leg caught in the pedals, as the car rolled—crushing his chest, breaking his neck, and tearing up one leg.
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His companions escaped serious injury, suffering only bruises, scr**es, and one a broken arm. They all were taken quickly to nearby Alamance General Hospital, which, like most southern hospitals then, had segregated wards, but a common emergency room. It was not then uncommon for Black patients to be refused treatment because there were not enough “Negro beds” available or the nearest hospital only serviced whites.
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Drew died April 1, 1950 from not being able to get the proper medical treatment at the all-white hospital in Burlington. His discovery and the use of a blood transfusion may have saved his life.
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🎓 June 3, 1904, Dr. Charles Richard Drew was born in Washington and raised in the influential Black neighborhood of Foggy Bottom. He graduated from Dunbar High School and attended Amherst College on an athletic scholarship—becoming one of the best hurdlers in the world. 🏃‍♂️
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For medical school, Drew applied to Howard University, Harvard Medical School, and ultimately chose McGill University. There he worked with Dr. John Beattie researching blood transfusions and shock.
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🩸 Understanding Shock:
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Shock occurs when blood volume drops rapidly—causing decreased blood pressure, falling body temperature, and loss of oxygen to tissues. Drew realized blood transfusions were key to saving lives, but at the time there was no reliable way to store or transport blood.
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In 1938, Drew began graduate work at Columbia University with a Rockefeller fellowship. At Presbyterian Hospital, he conducted exhaustive research on blood preservation, writing his groundbreaking thesis:
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📖 “Banked Blood: A Study on Blood Preservation.”
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It was here he discovered that blood plasma could be separated, preserved for long periods, and later reconstituted—a revolutionary breakthrough.
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🏆 In 1940, he became the first African American to earn a Doctor of Science in Medicine from Columbia.
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⚠️ Despite his brilliance, the District of Columbia chapter of the American Medical Association allowed only white doctors—Drew died without ever being accepted for membership.
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🌍 WORLD WAR II TURNING POINT
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In late 1940, before the U.S. entered World War II, Drew was recruited by John Scudder to lead the Blood for Britain project.
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🇬🇧 The program:
• Collected blood from ~15,000 donors
• Produced over 5,500 vials of plasma
• Saved thousands of British soldiers and civilians
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Drew introduced:
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🚚 Bloodmobiles (mobile blood collection units)
🧪 Strict testing for safe transfusions
🏥 Centralized blood banking systems
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👉 His plasma preservation system became a critical wartime innovation, allowing blood to be shipped across oceans and battlefields saving millions of soldiers and civilian lives. Yet he could not receive the transfusion in America that would have saved his life simply because of the color of his skin.
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💥 His work kept millions of Allied soldiers alive and fighting—yet his name is often overlooked when credit is given for the Allied victory.
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In 1941, Drew became the first director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank.
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When the military ordered that Black blood be segregated, Drew strongly objected. In 1942, he resigned in protest—standing firmly against racism in medicine. ✊
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That same year, he returned to Howard University and Freedmen’s Hospital as a surgeon and professor.
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🏅 Honors & Achievements:
• Spingarn Medal (1944) from the NAACP
• Honorary Doctor of Science – Virginia State College (1945)
• Honorary degree – Amherst College (1947)
• First African American examiner – American Board of Surgery
• Member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
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🔥 PLACES NAMED AFTER DR. CHARLES DREW (FULL LEGACY LIST)
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🏛️ Landmarks & Major Sites
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• Charles Richard Drew House (National Historic Landmark, 1976)
• Charles Richard Drew Memorial Bridge (Washington, D.C.)
• USNS Charles Drew (U.S. Navy cargo ship)
• Parc Charles-Drew (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
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🏥 Medical & Health Institutions
• Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (founded 1966, California)
• Charles Drew Health Center (Omaha, Nebraska)
• Charles Drew Community Health Center (Burlington, NC)
• Charles Drew Health Foundation (East Palo Alto, CA)
• Charles R. Drew Wellness Center (Columbia, SC)
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🎓 Colleges & University Programs
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• Charles Drew Science Enrichment Laboratory – Michigan State University
• Charles Drew Premedical Society – Columbia University
• Charles Drew Pre-Health Society – University of Rochester
• Charles R. Drew Hall – Howard University
• Charles Drew Memorial Cultural House – Amherst College
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🏫 K–12 Schools Nationwide
• Charles R. Drew Charter School (Atlanta, GA – featured in Project Almanac)
• Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School (Buffalo, NY)
• Charles R. Drew Middle School (Los Angeles, CA – opened 1966)
• Charles R. Drew Middle School (Lincoln, AL)
• Charles R. Drew Junior High School (Detroit, MI)
• Charles R. Drew Elementary Schools (Miami Beach & Pompano Beach, FL)
• Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School (Colesville, MD)
• Charles Drew Elementary School (Washington, D.C.)
• Charles R. Drew Elementary School (Arlington, VA)
• Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School (New Orleans, LA)
• Dr. Charles Drew Elementary School (San Francisco, CA)
• Charles R. Drew Intermediate School (Crosby, TX)
• Charles Richard Drew Educational Campus (Bronx, NY)
• Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy (Baltimore, MD)
• Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy West (Baltimore, MD)
• Dr. Charles Drew Academy (Ecorse, MI)
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…and many more institutions across the United States honoring his legacy. 🇺🇸

📖 Click Link 👉 https://amzn.to/2X5rZn5 to Order or Review One Blood: The Death and Resurrection of Charles R. Drew
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🎨🩸⚕️
From a young athlete in Washington, D.C.… to a pioneer who revolutionized blood storage… to a man whose discovery helped win a world war—
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Dr. Charles Drew’s legacy lives on in every blood bank, every transfusion, and every life saved.
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Millions lived because of him and his invention is still saving millions of lives each year. History should never forget his name.
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🩸🇺🇸