Items

• 
  2020-05-06

  Drive Through Birthday

  On May 6, 2020, my childhood best friend officially turned 15. It may be just another birthday for most. However, in Hispanic culture, it means a girl's shift from childhood to womanhood. Usually celebrated by parties filled with hundreds of people, princess dresses, cultural food, music, and gifts. Due to the pandemic, it was diminished to a drive-through celebration filled with masks and distance between loved ones. It was a memorable birthday; nevertheless, a significant part of the typical Hispanic cultural experience was stripped away from her.
• 
  2022-03-07

  Maternity wards are shuttering across the US during the pandemic

  This is a news story from Vox, written by Dylan Scott. Across the nation, maternity wards have been shutting down, making things more dangerous for new mothers. Due to these closures, there has been an increased number in deaths of both infants and pregnant women. These losses of maternity wards have been harshest on those of low income, as well as Black and Hispanic women. Part of these closures have happened due to shortages of doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff during the pandemic. The closure of more maternity wards also means women having to travel further to get the care they need. The timing makes this even more difficult during labor, as complications can happen during that, increasing chances of death. Overall, this article shows the ways that the ripple effects from COVID not only affect the mortality rates of mothers and babies, but disproportionately hurt poor, Black, and Hispanic women.
• 
  2021-05-24

  HERMIT HERALD, ISSUE 115

  MISINFORMATION REIGNS
• 
  2021-03-30

  California's Latino Communities Being Disproportionately Impacted By The Virus

  This shares a tragic story of a COVID-19 victim leaving behind multiple dependents, as well as a report of the disproportionate risk for Latinos in California. They lead with a personable story of a mother and guardian in order to put names and faces, featuring Maribel Alvarado, to the statistics that follow. It goes into the risks many Latinos go through in their daily lives; their jobs and communities.
• 
  2021-03-05

  Virtual Funeral

  This is my fourth virtual funeral in less than a year. Although covid has been around for about a year, it didn't really hit home until a few short months ago. Los Angeles has been hit hard, and being from a large minority group I have lost a few people close to me. The first was my best friend's dad, then his brother, then another friend's brother. The photo is of a funeral that I am currently watching. I grew up in a large church in Los Angeles, this beautiful lady very well knew in the Hispanic Pentecostal community. She watched me grow up, attended my sweet fifteen and my wedding. She had the biggest heart and loved God fiercely. She was my mom's good friend and in January she contracted covid, by the end of the month she was gone. I've quickly realized that the only thing harder than losing so many people in such a short time span is not being able to say goodbye.
• 
  2021-02-05

  Across The South, COVID-19 Vaccine Sites Missing From Black And Hispanic Neighborhoods

  An article and short podcast discussing how difficult it is to get vaccinated in Black neighborhoods, mostly due to lack of vaccinations and locations.
• 
  2020-03-27

  Marginalized groups in a pandemic

  This article is focused on how COVID-19 affected a pregnant woman's birthing experience, especially harming black and native women. This article is very interesting to read and compare it to Brittany's story. Shaine Garcia and Brittany both were hoping for a healthy and smooth experience while giving birth, and COVID did not let that happen for them. The author mentions how the rules implemented allowed no visitors or accompany in these appointments. This prevented doulas and midwives from also being there. Those who were fortunate enough to have home births, midwives, or doulas were at advantage compared to those who could not afford this privilege. “Among mothers with low socioeconomic status, 18.7 percent of white women reported mistreatment compared to 27.2 percent of women of color. Indigenous women were the most likely to report experiencing at least one form of mistreatment by health-care providers during birth, followed by Black and Hispanic women,” says the Giving Voice to Mothers study.” This is the reason many prefer to have doulas because the black maternal mortality rate is twelve times a white woman. There are many disadvantages to those that could not have a home birth or the presence of extra support while giving birth. It is a very dangerous situation for these marginalized groups of women, that are not being treated correctly, especially during a pandemic where they are likely to face it alone. This correlates to the criteria of an item that attempts to fill an archival silence and amplify the voices of marginalized groups. Many people are not aware of the mistreatment happening to black and native women in hospitals. Doulas and midwives are there to help support and protect the mother in many more ways than people know, and because of covid-19, these privileges are being taken away. Although this article doesn’t specify those women who can’t afford them anyway, these women are being silenced. This article serves the purpose to educate and inform those that it is an issue going on and possibly getting worse during the pandemic. This is an article that shares the experiences of black and native pregnant women and how their experiences differ much more than other women. It was found through research.
• 
  2020-12-10

  Anonymous in Santa Ana, California

  I think that it is good to have texts that talk about the lives of people that are not so upper class as they are living through this pandemic, since that is what future historians will use and they need to be able to access more sources.
• 
  2020-08-27

  Covid-19 Disproportionately Affects Minorities

  This article supports research findings indicating that Black and Hispanic communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The research also demonstrates a link between cases in nursing homes and communities. There are some challenges to addressing the severity of Covid’s impact on communities of color. As stated in the Discussion section, “Nursing homes are now required...to report cases and deaths on a regular basis, but they are not required to report the data by race and ethnicity, and few states include such information in their own public reporting….” I think this data should be included, since it will help future historians categorize the effects of Covid-19 by communities.
• 
  10/10/2020

  Angelica S Ramos Oral History, 2020/10/10

  Angelica Ramos is a full time mother and student living in Gilbert, Arizona. She is studying history at Arizona State University. She is an Arizona transplant, having moved from her hometown of Los Angeles, California when she was 23 years old. She keeps busy caring for her two small children; balancing school and activities for her children, her own schoolwork and managing her household, all in the time of COVID-19. In this interview, she discusses her thoughts, challenges and feelings on the pandemic year, and what she hopes is on the horizon for next year.
• 2020-05-06

  Initial Findings on Covid-19 in New York: Staying home may be putting people at risk.

  The source includes testimony of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo regarding the present statistics of Covid-19 in New York. The evidence is shocking because as the government tries to determine how the virus is spreading, they uncover most of the hospitalized population to be those who were quarantined at home and non-essential. The homeless. the jailed, the essential workers, and even the users of public transportation were of the lowest percentage of hospitalized people. The early data begs the question: Is staying at home the best way to fight the pandemic? #CSUS #HIST15H