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Collected Item: “BLM”

Give your story a title.

BLM

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

Text story and photographs.

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

In the beginning of 2020, fear and uncertainty resonated within everyone’s mind. Face masks and social distancing became the norm. Shops, restaurants, and bars closed their doors. Social events were either postponed or cancelled. People fought loneliness and depression. I gave birth to my first child in March of 2020, a week after stay at home orders were announced. I was allowed one visitor the entire hospital stay due to strict COVID precautions. To this day, my child has never met his extended family in person. The pandemic taught many of us that life is precious and should never be taken for granted. It has been an eye opener for many and a reminder that we have a lot of work ahead of us. As the COVID-19 cases rapidly increased, more evidence of police brutality and racism surfaced on the internet. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others made most Americans question authority. Political controversy divided our nation. Asian Americans were blamed for the spread of COVID-19 and Asian elders were attacked in broad daylight. Although there were many instances of hate crimes, many also stood in solidarity amid a global pandemic. The pictures I’ve shared were taken by a family friend during the Black Lives Matter protests in San Diego on June 2020.

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

#BLM

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

Michael Herana

Give this story a date.

2020-06
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