Help us find Annie
An accolade long overdue
Black History Month is generally a tiresome affair in which the names of the same few people are trotted out for remembrance, year after year. And too often the field of honorees is limited to those whose accomplishments lie in politics or the entertainment/sports industry.
It is refreshing to see that the Baltimore County Public Library at least has finally recognized Viven Thomas, who has been the unsung hero of cardiac surgery, being the member of the Blalock-Taussig team who did much of the heavy lifting involved in perfecting the so-called blue baby surgery. A skilled surgeon, but lacking a medical degree because of his rural southern roots and the Jim Crow policies of medical schools, Thomas perfected both the surgical technique and the instruments used in this operation, which has saved the lives of countless infants born with cardiac insufficiency since it was first performed 62 years ago.
It's regrettable that he did not receive some public accolade during his lifetime, instead of a generation after his death.