American Experience: Partners of the Heart The improbable alliance of black medical genius Vivien Thomas and white surgeon Alfred Blalock began in Depression-era Nashville. Their work together at Vanderbilt University and later at Johns Hopkins led to one of the century's signal medical breakthroughs: the pioneering of daring heart operations that saved thousands of children afflicted with a congenital heart defect called "blue baby syndrome." Blalock and Thomas went on to train two generations of America's most prominent cardiac surgeons. Morgan Freeman narrates this compelling and heroic tale of two men whose social and cultural differences could not stand in the way of their quest to alleviate human suffering. When's it on? Visit the Site What aspect of this story affected you the most? Why? Do you think Thomas would have been better off if he'd stayed in Nashville? Why? Why do you think Blalock took a chance on hiring Thomas in the first place? Why do you think Thomas agreed to accompany Blalock to Johns Hopkins? What factors do you think contributed to Blalock and Thomas' compatibility? Can you think of any other "unlikely" or unusual duos today whose friendship surmounted and survived obstacles? Besides the surgery for "blue babies," what do you think Vivien Thomas contributed to the field of medicine? To society? Thomas often moonlighted as a bartender to make ends meet. An interviewee in the program asserts that "no one thought less of him" for doing so. What do you think? Late in his life, Thomas received the recognition denied him as a young man. Do you think this compensated him sufficiently for not becoming a doctor and for the discrimination he endured? Why or why not?
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