Dr. Charles Richard Drew

Dr. Charles Richard Drew has an honorable place among famous black inventors as the person who invented the modern blood bank. He discovered that by when red blood cells and plasma are separated, blood can be stored for long periods of time. He used this knowledge to establish blood banks and the Red Cross, where he served as the first director.

After the US War Department announced that the blood of white donors and black donors shouldn't be mixed, Drew stepped down from his position at the Red Cross in protest. He maintained that race did not affect the properties of blood.