A Black Technician and Blue Babies

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss the many contributions of a versatile black technician, Vivien Thomas, to surgical animal research between 1930 and 1979 at Vanderbilt University and Johns Hopkins University. Thomas' experimental work led to a surgical solution for a life-threatening heart defect, called tetralogy of Fallot. Children with this condition lack sufficient oxygenation and were referred to as `blue babies'. Following Thomas' research trajectory and his relationship with surgeon Dr Alfred Blalock, I review the conditions under which differing expectations towards race and occupation clashed, creating a status dilemma for Thomas. While the torsion originated in the laboratory where technical skills are valued, the research locale also facilitated a temporary, fragile solution for the status dilemma, because it separated Thomas from public view. Yet, Thomas' dexterity as a laboratory researcher enhanced his dilemma, because credit kept eluding him. In order to track the dynamics of race and occupational subordination as lived experience in the laboratory, I argue for an analysis of the process of crediting people for their scientific accomplishments.