Unsung Heroes of the Movement: Vivien Thomas 🫀🔬 Vivien Thomas never held a medical degree—but he transformed the future of heart surgery. The grandson of enslaved people, Thomas dreamed of becoming a doctor. When the Great Depression forced him out of college, he took a job cleaning cages in a surgical lab. But his steady hand and brilliant mind quickly elevated him to lead research partner. At Johns Hopkins, he co-developed a life-saving procedure for “blue baby syndrome,” pioneered the use of blood plasma during WWII, and trained generations of America’s top surgeons—all while being paid as a janitor and often mistaken for one. Only later was he fully recognized. In 1976, he received an honorary doctorate and became the first Black person honored with a portrait in the halls of Johns Hopkins. Vivien Thomas didn’t just change medicine—he changed what was possible. #UnsungHeroes #VivienThomas #BlackMedicalPioneers #HiddenFigures #StoriesThatMove #BlackHistory365