FILM CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF GERALD W. DEAS DEBUTS AT SUNY DOWNSTATE
Jan 25, 2007
Although it may not be shown at a trendy film festival or even a local theater near
you, IDEAS, the new film celebrating the life and times of Gerald W. Deas, MD, is
certain to make a lasting impression on everyone who sees it. A collaboration between
the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, the film
was given its premier showing January 11 at Downstate Medical Center, where Dr. Deas
has been a respected physician-educator for 45 years and currently serves as Director
of Health Education Communications.
IDEAS was created to highlight the lifelong contributions of a dedicated physician,
teacher, patient advocate, and community activist who has been, and continues to be,
an exemplary role model. The Arthur Ashe Institute, which is headquartered at SUNY
Downstate, developed the film as a teaching tool to encourage young people—especially
those of color—to follow Dr. Deas’ footprints toward a career in the health professions.
The film’s title comes from Dr. Deas’ longstanding habit of adding the letter I to
his name on caps, shirts, and anywhere else a monogram might go, transforming DEAS
into IDEAS. This is his way of telling us to put our best thoughts into actionxthe
way he always has.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Dr. Deas attended Boys High School and later Brooklyn
College. He earned two master’s degrees, in biochemistry and in public health, before
graduating from SUNY Downstate with an MD in 1962. He was one of only three African-American
students in his graduating class.
In addition to practicing medicine and teaching, Dr. Deas has sent his passion and
commitment across the airways. For many years he hosted a weekly radio show on WLIB
and a segment called “House Calls” on television’s The McCreary Report. Today, he
continues to provide health education and information through his poetry, plays, and
popular syndicated columns in the Amsterdam News and elsewhere.
Through interviews with physicians, educators, and students, the film chronicles Dr.
Deas’ lifelong effort to improve community health. His campaign to force Argo Starch
to place a label on its laundry product warning, “Not Intended for Food Use” is legendary.
This single act prevented countless Black women from becoming anemic during pregnancy.
Adelaide Sanford, vice chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, recalls
a time when there was no one like Dr. Deas speaking out for Black people against harmful
medical practices. Ray Austin, MD, with whom Dr. Deas formed Doctors Against Murder
(DAM), describes its work helping young people to reject violence. Former and current
medical students also appear on film, testifying to the importance for students of
color to have a mentor like Dr. Deas.
The audience at the film premier included renowned artists, educators, community leaders,
and former patients who had come to witness this tribute to their favorite “doctor
from the hood.” But no one had a better time than Gerald Deas himself, who joked,
“Its great having people say nice things about you, especially while you’re still
around to hear it.”
### About SUNY Downstate Medical Center SUNY Downstate Medical Center, founded in 1860, was the first medical school in the
United States to bring teaching out of the lecture hall and to the patient’s bedside.
A center of innovation and excellence in research and clinical service delivery, SUNY
Downstate Medical Center comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School
of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, School of Public Health, University
Hospital of Brooklyn, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative including the Downstate
Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively.
SUNY Downstate ranks twelfth nationally in the number of alumni who are on the faculty
of American medical schools. More physicians practicing in New York City have graduated
from SUNY Downstate than from any other medical school.