Dr. Frank L. Douglas
The Road Less Well
Traveled in a Narrow
Minded World
Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream: A Memoir
Defining Moments of a Free Man from A Black Stream chronicles the journey of a young black man growing up in poverty in a small South American country and rising to become one of the world’s pre-eminent scientists in the Pharmaceutical Industry, developing drugs that fight diabetes, seizures, and cancer. Dr. Frank L. Douglas has lived a life based on values, hard work, and self-control. His memoir is a reflection on the events and people that made him into the man he is.
This book is a story of race, pain, loss, survival, perseverance, harnessing and acquisition of power and ultimately, success.
About Dr. Frank Douglas
Dr. Frank L. Douglas grew up in British Guiana with his mother and four siblings. His love of education earned him a Fulbright Scholarship and he came to America during the turbulent years of the 1960s. He worked at Ciba Giegy and Aventis, and was involved in the pharmaceutical industry where he spearheaded research and development of drugs that treat tuberculosis, arthritis, diabetes, seizures, cancer and pulmonary embolism, among others.
Douglas has received the Global Pharmaceutical Research and Development Director of the Year Award in 2001 and 2004; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers in 2002; the Black History Maker Award in 2007; the Geoffrey Beene Foundation and GQ Rockstar of Science, and the Odyssey Award from the Center of Medicine in the Public Interest in 2010; and the Caribbean Heritage Award for Entrepreneurship in 2011.
Douglas wrote A Free Man From a Black Stream in honor of all those who have helped him along his journey.
Latest Reflections
On the Issue of Value: Faculty and Students
The Inaugural Fireside Chat on Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream with Senior Leaders and members of the Board of Trustees at Lehigh University was held on February 27th. I read four excerpts covering why I resigned from MIT, and three episodes that...
read more
“The author included a powerful background highlighting incidences in his childhood that helped shape his fortitude. Growing up in poverty where he was mostly unsure of how he could afford his education, Douglas became aware of the challenges that faced others like him and worked hard to ensure he made the best out of available opportunities.
I rate Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream 4 out of 4 stars. It would appeal to readers who are fond of memoirs especially those that reflect on personal and ethnic identity and racial discrimination.”
— EmunahAn, onlinebookclub.org
I am very proud, Frank, to have played a small but significant part in your life! And both of us continue to believe in hard work. It is the way we serve this world, remember our parents and those who gave us knowledge.
Prof. Hoffmann, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
