For the first time on camera, the family of Dr. Charles R. Drew is setting the record straight. The American Red Cross will release Iconic Excellence: The Legacy of Dr. Charles R. Drew on September 18 on its YouTube channel, a new documentary that addresses two questions that have followed Dr. Drew’s story for decades: whether he received a transfusion in his final hours and why he left the American Red Cross, often attributed to him protesting the military’s blood segregation policy.
Dr. Drew’s contributions to medicine are difficult to overstate. His plasma preservation techniques saved hundreds of thousands of lives during World War II. He advocated for the right of Black Americans to give blood and against the segregation of blood donations by race. He brought donation into communities through transfusion trailers now known as bloodmobiles, set the quality standards blood centers still follow today and trained a generation of Black surgeons, all before his 45th birthday. The national Red Cross blood program he helped build now supports patients through modern breakthroughs including gene therapies and bone marrow and stem cell transplants, offering new hope for people living with sickle cell disease.
“His innovation in blood plasma was not about a Black community achievement,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, in the film. “It was about an achievement that spanned the globe.”
His youngest daughter Sylvia Drew Ivie added: “He was trying to do something for generations ahead, even after he was gone.”
The film features interviews with Dr. Drew’s daughters Bebe Drew Price, Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis and Sylvia Drew Ivie, his grandchildren Ernie Drew Jarvis and Dr. Kelly Price Noble, Derrick Johnson, former Omega Psi Phi International President Ricky Lewis and American Red Cross leaders Chris Hrouda and Dr. Yvette Miller. DeMarco Morgan narrates. The film is written and executive produced by Tiffany Taylor and directed by Brad Zerivitz.
The documentary also highlights the representation of four Divine Nine organizations both on screen and behind the camera. Dr. Drew was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., as are Johnson and Lewis. Dr. Miller is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Morgan is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and Taylor is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
Iconic Excellence premieres September 18 on the American Red Cross YouTube channel during Sickle Cell Awareness Month, with screenings and blood drives hosted nationwide. Donors who are Black are three times more likely to be a match for patients with sickle cell disease. Appointments to donate can be scheduled at RedCrossBlood.org/OurBlood.