Charles Drew, noted authority on hematology and human blood transfusion, developed a method for storing blood plasma and thus became known as the "Father of the Blood Bank." Drew also exerted his influence on the American Medical Association to rid its affiliates of racism. Born the eldest of five children on June 3, 1904 in Washington, D. C., he was the son of Richard Thomas Drew, a carpet installer, and Nora Rosella Burrell Drew, a teacher. As a child, Drew earned money with a paper route, expanding his territory by hiring other boys to help him deliver papers. He won swimming medals in elementary school and graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in 1922 as star halfback with honors in football, basketball, track, and baseball. On an athletic scholarship, Drew waited tables so that he could complete undergraduate work at Amherst College where he earned the Mossman and Thomas W...