Dr. Gerald Deas, pioneering health advocate, AmNews contributor, dies at 94

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Dr. Gerald Deas, a physician, patient advocate, journalist, and longtime contributor to the Amsterdam News, died of natural causes on Jan. 18 at age 94. His family confirmed his passing to SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where Deas practiced medicine for more than 50 years. He was known for battling major companies, advocating for public health, and reporting about health and wellness. He was also the first Black medical columnist for the New York Daily News.

In his articles for the AmNews, he wrote numerous articles about food, health, and wellness. The power of healing with the spirit was an important topic to him. In 2020, he wrote:

During my medical practice, I have used and observed the power of touch and love and it has assisted me in quelling unrelenting pain, lowering sky-high blood pressure and relaxing tense and painful muscles, and it also has a positive effect on other disease states. Just as negative energies increase the intensity of an illness, positive energies can decrease it.

Deas was also a practical doctor and spread a message of people keeping up routine health practices. In another article from 2019, he commented:

Many folks feel that what you don’t know can’t hurt you. Well, you know as I do that belief systems can be dangerous because [w]hen things begin to hurt, it might be a signal that the disease condition is well on its way and is trying to tell you something. It is, therefore, most important to mind your own body by getting yearly checkups, even when things are not bothering you.

Deas was born April 15, 1931, in Brooklyn. According to a biography on the SUNY Downstate website, he went to Boys High School and later attended Brooklyn College, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in biochemistry. He served in the Korean War and, on returning home, helped in the formation of Doctors Against Murder, an organization that encouraged young people to reject violence.

Deas continued his education at the University of Michigan, where he received a master’s in public health and enrolled at SUNY Downstate where he earned his MD degree in 1962. He was one of only three African American students in his graduating class.

After graduating, Deas did an internship and residency training at Kings County Hospital. He also worked on the faculty of preventive medicine at SUNY Downstate and served as an attending physician at Jamaica Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens.

In the 1970s, Deas fought against the Argo Starch Company in a public health campaign after discovering that the laundry starch was being sold in grocery aisles as a snack, causing Black women to become anemic. This exposure caused Argo Starch to add a warning label “Not recommended for food use” to their products, and earned Deas a special commendation award from the Food and Drug Administration.

Deas is also known for his work with the Emmy-award-winning journalist Bill McCreary and was a medical correspondent on the televised “McCreary Report” for 10 years, where he hosted the segment “House Calls.” He was also the host of a weekly radio show on WLIB-FM.

In 2019, Deas received an honorary doctorate of science at the 52nd commencement of SUNY Downstate . His colleagues there remembered his talent, skill, and many contributions to medicine and the community.

“Dr. Gerald Deas was a gifted physician, educator, and public health advocate whose impact reached far beyond our campus and into communities across New York City. A proud Downstate alumnus, he believed deeply that medicine should be clear, compassionate, and accessible to all,” said SUNY Downstate Medical Center president Dr. Wayne J. Riley. “Through his teaching, his public voice, and his mentorship, he changed lives and opened doors for generations of students. We mourn his passing and honor a legacy defined by service, equity, and the power of ideas to improve health.”

The 2007 film “Ideas,” made in collaboration with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, celebrates the life and times of Deas and highlights his importance as a community role model.

Deas also wrote poetry. Some standout pieces of his are “Mr. Mean Nicotine and Sodium Confesses,” “Cautionary Tale Hattite Brown,” and “A Black Child who can’t smile.” He also wrote numerous musicals and plays.

He is survived by his wife, Beverly and their three children.