The American Red Cross and the NAACP will premiere Iconic Excellence: The Legacy of Dr. Charles R. Drew, a new documentary honoring the father of blood banking, Sept. 18 on the American Red Cross YouTube channel. The short film highlights Drew's revolutionary breakthroughs in blood plasma preservation, which saved hundreds of thousands of lives during World War II and pioneered modern methods for collecting, preserving and distributing blood.
A LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE
Produced by the Red Cross in collaboration with Drew's family, the NAACP and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., the documentary offers an intimate portrait of Drew's drive and leadership, tracing his path from his childhood in Washington, D.C., to global prominence as a Black surgeon, educator and champion for inclusivity in medicine. Beyond the science, the film reveals a family man guided by his principles: a scientific stance against the U.S. military's blood segregation policy and a mantra on excellence he instilled in generations of Black surgeons.
"Dr. Drew is an unsung hero of World War II," said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson. "His innovation made it possible for many American soldiers to come home to their families."
In 1944, while blood segregation was still official policy, the NAACP awarded Dr. Drew the Spingarn Medal for his work in blood plasma research and blood banking. "The Spingarn Medal still today is considered the highest honor that can be bestowed on an African American in this country," said Johnson.
Dr. Drew was 45 when he died in a car accident in 1950. His daughters and grandchildren have spent decades honoring and preserving his legacy ever since. In Iconic Excellence, together on camera for the first time, his family gives that account in full, including answers to questions that have surrounded his legacy: whether he received blood products himself in the hours after the accident, and why he left the Red Cross, long attributed to Drew protesting the blood segregation policy.
"My father's work in training other Black surgeons was uppermost in his mind at the time of his death because he trained a small legion of Black surgeons, who then trained another group of Black surgeons, who then trained another group...whose color wasn't the most important thing," said Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis, Drew's middle daughter. "It was: are they trained? Do they know? Do they understand? Who are they going to serve?"
CARRYING THE LEGACY FORWARD
Drew's commitment to mobilizing communities to improve health care carries forward today through organizations that host blood drives in support of the Red Cross Sickle Cell Initiative. Working with community partners, the Red Cross has nearly doubled the number of annual blood donors who are Black or African American, an increase of more than 89% since the Sickle Cell Initiative launched in 2021. To date, more than 445,770 donors who are Black or African American have given blood to support patients living with sickle cell disease, with more than 188,000 of them being first-time blood donors.
"Dr. Drew understood something we continue to see every day at the Red Cross: when you meet people where they are and invite them to be part of the mission, they respond," said Chris Hrouda, president of American Red Cross Biomedical Services. "Many first-time blood donors roll up a sleeve because someone helped them understand the impact a single donation can have on a patient in need. That was Dr. Drew's approach 85 years ago, and it remains a powerful way lives are saved today."
Iconic Excellence premieres during Sickle Cell Awareness Month in September. Organizations and community groups can register to host a screening, a blood drive, or both by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/IconicExcellence. To schedule a blood donation appointment, visit RedCrossBlood.org/OurBlood, use the Blood Donor App or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
ABOUT THE FILM
Iconic Excellence tells Dr. Drew's story through his own family and the voices of the NAACP, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. and the American Red Cross. On-camera voices include Bebe Drew Price, Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis, Sylvia Drew Ivie, Dr. Kelly Price Noble, Ernie Drew Jarvis; Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP; Ricky Lewis, 42nd International President of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.; Chris Hrouda, president of American Red Cross Biomedical Services; and Dr. Yvette Miller, American Red Cross executive medical officer. Journalist DeMarco Morgan narrates. The film was written and executive produced by Tiffany Taylor and directed by Brad Zerivitz, with cover art by Melissa Koby.
