January 1940

Surgeon and researcher Charles Drew developed methods to process and preserve blood plasma that made large-scale blood banking feasible, saving countless lives in World War II. He directed the first major US blood bank project and the British Blood for Britain program before being forced out of the American Red Cross due to its racially segregated blood policy.

Charles White, one of the most important figurative artists of the 20th century, completed his WPA-commissioned mural History of the Negro Press in 1940, establishing him as a leading voice in socially conscious Black art. His monumental charcoal and oil works depicting Black laborers, activists, and historical figures influenced generations of artists and were central to both the Chicago Black Renaissance and later movements.

Elizabeth Catlett won first prize in sculpture at the 1940 Chicago American Negro Exposition for her limestone 'Negro Mother and Child,' her master's thesis at the University of Iowa, where she studied under Grant Wood. The award inaugurated a career that made her one of the foremost sculptors of the twentieth century and a foundational figure in Black feminist visual art.

Charles White painted 'There Were No Crops This Year' in 1940 as part of his socially committed muralist practice documenting Black labor, history, and dignity. Trained at the Art Institute of Chicago, White was a key figure in the Black Chicago Renaissance and worked with the Illinois Federal Art Project to bring Black history to public spaces. His monumental figurative style influenced generations of artists.

Drew's work on blood plasma storage saves countless lives.