Our Blood Can Save Them
Keith Haring Bathroom at The Center, New York, NY
Organized by Richard Morales

Our Blood Can Save Them considers racial equality and LGBTQI+ equality, and correlates these concepts to those individuals willing to sacrifice and share of themselves in service to their country and to help save lives in their communities. Past racial segregation of blood donations and current discriminatory policies – such as the FDA’s blood ban and the transgender military ban – are not rooted in science and data, and undermine our country’s wellness and preparedness.

A 1943 WWII propaganda poster image was screen-printed, using a pint of donated blood from a transgender, pansexual, active U.S. Service Member. Every drop of his blood was used and, as it ran out, the image gradually fades–expressive of a person or communities being erased by discrimination or indifference. In the early 1940’s, Dr. Charles R. Drew, a prominent African American surgeon, developed blood storage techniques as part of a successful program to collect blood in New York City hospitals and export the plasma to the Allied forces in Europe during WWII. Dr. Drew eventually resigned his position in protest of racial segregation of blood. This history serves as a starting point to examine crucial science and equality issues through policies of historic prejudice that are still being perpetrated against the LGBTQI+ community today.