Items

• 
  2020-07-04

  The North Melbourne Public Housing Lockdown

  HIST30060: Just before the second lockdown in Melbourne I was told by my mum that my grandfather and step grandmother had been suddenly without warning placed into a sharp lockdown within the public housing they resided in. The confusion and anger was quickly shared by my family and extended family members, where was the consideration for some of the most vulnerable members of the community, who in some cases cannot speak english? Why were they subject to such harsh conditions whilst those in the wealthy inner east free to enjoy themselves despite their equally high rates of covid? This was noticed by me as well in the harsher treatment of those in the poorer, diverse suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne during some of the worst times of the pandemic.
• 
  2020-08-11

  Ipads and Chromebooks: The New Notebooks

  Following the reopening of schools through the virtual world a number of students across the country were faced with a new problem. They lacked the technology needed to attend their online class. Schools who fell under the title 1 classification , which is where children from low-income families make up at least 40 percent of the enrollment, were disproportionately affected by this problem. These families which often consisted of more than one child simply couldn't afford multiple computers. As a result many kids were still unable to attend their classes or do any work at all. This lack of technology was a problem that not only younger kids faced. Students ranging from all ages had to adapt and make due with whatever technology they had or were forced to go out to buy another computer.So in order to help fix the problem for younger students schools began to hand out chromebooks and ipads. By providing them with the technology to access their new classroom setting they could begin attending school again. While there were still other problems such as the lack of internet, handing out chromebooks and ipads definitely had a positive impact by providing a number of students with these new school supplies.
• 
  2021-09-08

  HIST30060: GREED SUCKS

  I found this chalk slogan on the road hilariously neo-liberal. Absolutely, greed sucks - the way COVID-19 exacerbated wealth inequalities and ravaged communities disproportionately (due to lack of resources/access and over-policing) sucks. Yet, this chalked slogan was a simplification (or even armchair activist representation) of that reality and this made me chuckle.
• 
  2021-10-04

  Neglect of Prisoners

  One of the examples of bigger issues coming to light during the pandemic. Not only were people in prisons fighting covid, but they're also continually dealing with a lack of resources such as basic air conditioning/ heat.
• 
  2021-05-16

  Vaccine Hesitancy in the Black Community

  This tweet reflects an ongoing controversy of the Covid-19 vaccine. The media has reported a hesitancy of the mRNA vaccine amongst the black community, but with little to no context on why there is such hesitancy. Based on the history of the U.S. public health institution, there have been reported inequalities that include a racial hierarchy within the medical system. This tweet specifies the instances of medical malpractice committed towards people of color and insists on an understanding of racial inequality through the lens of people of color that led to skeptical feelings about the vaccine.
• 
  2021-02-21

  Laura Larson Oral History, 2021/02/21

  Self description: “My name is Laura, and I am in two bands right now. I am in a band called Scrunchies and a band called Kitten Forever. I play guitar, base, drums, and I sing in those two bands. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For work, I work at a community cooperative grocery store, in an administrative position, but one that is community outreach based and have a lot to do with meeting and coordinating with our community partners, a lot of the work that I do is about mutual aid, and helping out the community with the resources that we have available to us. Besides that I am a visual artist, I like to paint, I like to draw, I like to read books, and I live in a little duplex with my partner and our cat Sissy.” Some of the things we spoke about included: - In addition to performing in the bands Scrunchies and Kitten Forever, working for a community grocer and its ties to health activism. - Income and racial disparities in Minnesota. - The fear that comes with being uninsured in the United States. - The national confusion around the values of masking and other safety precautions and the burden placed on individuals to make these decisions in the absence of clear and consistent messaging. - The significance of shutting down music events while keeping sporting events going. - Media representation of event cancelations, freezers of bodies, and overwhelmed hospitals. - Living less than a mile from where George Floyd was murdered and movements to defund the police. - How the ongoing destruction of the earth conditioned the pandemic and the enduring importance of climate change. - Grocery store workers being essential workers who still did not receive vaccination prioritization. - Collective trauma and that fear begets fear. - Making and consuming art as a form of self-care. - How new the internet still is as a technology. Cultural references: Save Our Stages, The Atlantic article “Cancel Everything”. See also: https://scrunchies.bandcamp.com/ https://kittenforever.bandcamp.com
• 
  2021-04-02

  Strength and Innovation of Indigenous Communities During the Pandemic

  This article demonstrates that despite the inequities faced by Native Americans and indigenous populations they have been innovative in combatting the pandemic and shown strength in the face of fear, illness, and uncertainty.
• 
  2021-04-15

  Differing Vaccine Outcomes by Country

  For the past few months, vaccines for Covid have been rolling out to Americans despite some setbacks. As of right now, a huge chunk of America has or is in the process of getting vaccinated, hopefully putting an end to this once and for all. Unfortunately, other countries without the same industrial capacity to produce the vaccine have been struggling. My sister, who lives in the Netherlands, won't be able to get a vaccine until May, and even that is tenuous at best. It is even worse for many countries in the global South, which will have to wait until well after richer capitalist countries finish vaccinating their people. The dirty secret here is that each company who developed the vaccine is not sharing for free how they made this life-saving material, forcing almost the entire world to be beholden to companies like Moderna. There will not be an equitable distribution of the vaccine, that is clear already. When countries like the US and the Netherlands do finish vaccinations by at least the end of this year, the world will still be forced to reckon with Covid still spreading in places like Sub-Saharan Africa and potentially back to the global North. If the world wants to truly deal with Covid and any future disease of a similar nature, it needs to figure out how to get vaccines quickly without a profit motive, something that is nearly impossible within a capitalist structure.
• 
  2021-03-22

  Some Mexicans Find They Can Get COVID-19 Vaccines In The U.S.

  In Mexico, receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is difficult. This has led to some Mexicans going to the United States COVID-19 vaccine. However, those that do this usually have money and/or connections. In some cases, the areas these people go to for vaccines are struggling to receive vaccines, such as the counties near the Texas-Mexico border.
• 
  2021-03-18

  The next frontier in air travel: Digital passports as proof of vaccination or testing

  With vaccines rolling out, there have been talks of digital passports. These passports would allow for international travelers to upload proof of a COVID-19 vaccine or negative test. However, concerns of human rights and privacy violations have been raised. These fears stem from the possibility of the passports causing inequality due to vaccine accessibility.
• 
  2020-05-19

  COVID-19, Technology, and Implications for Educational Equity (Sociology of Education)

  This article addresses the divide between students who had easy access to technology/digital skills during the pandemic, and how it came into play in regards to grades
• 
  2021-01-19

  How does the pandemic affect children?

  This link provided explains how the pandemic is affecting the development of children.
• 
  2021-02-27

  Housing Instability

  This article discusses the way that housing instability has begun to disproportionately affect black people during COVID. Black people typically face a myriad of intersectional issues that come from a lack of resources or economic support. As people were being laid off at the start of COVID black people of course were disproportionately more affected which in turn can be seen in a lack of stable housing. This in turn serves to make black people more susceptible to catching and being more affected by the conditions created by the pandemic. Housing is an important issue that leads to other things like health and safety. This leads to cyclical poverty which is only made worse by racial positionality and the pandemic.
• 
  2021-02-25

  Disparities in Black Americans receiving the vaccine

  As is common with many other facets of BIPOC receiving access to healthcare in westernized countries black people are falling behind their white counterparts in receiving the vaccine. Only 5.7% of black U.S. citizens have received the vaccine as compared to 11.3% of white U.S. citizens. The disparities reflect a general inability for black people to receive adequate care in the United States while white people are generally able to receive a higher level and more care. Vaccines are especially important with regard to COVID as it represents a path back to normal life. Black people are receiving the vaccine at a rate almost half of that of the next racial group.
• 
  2021-02-22

  Black history and the COVID-19 pandemic

  This post tags an article titled "The Black Plague" which states that according to the Reuters report African Americans are more likely to die from Covid-19 than any other group in the U.S.. The article goes further in to explain the synopsis of affected and deaths of certain states but it importantly states that black people are more likely to have pre-existing health conditions that weaken their immune systems causing them to be easily infected. Though this is one reason why; other reasons including, as stated in the article "Trumpanian Malfeseance" is another major cause. With the testing locations around the U.S having major breakpoints, it was noted that zipcodes of higher-income families had the closest and many available sights of getting tested compared to zip codes with low-income families. Further studies showed that out of these lower-income locations, the majority was filled by black people. This limited the opportunity for black people to get tested and explains how the pandemic is affecting black people.
• 
  2020-09-29

  Pandemic Highlights Deep-Rooted Problems in Indian Health Service

  This article illuminates the lack of resources the Indian Health Service (IHS) received from the government to treat its tribal members who contract COVID-19. The IHS blames the Federal government and both current and past presidential administrations for creating the massive deficiencies in ventilators, PPE, hospital beds, and funding for government-run hospitals. This piece provides an example of how COVID-19 highlights the continued healthcare inequalities between non-tribal and tribal communities, thus making it important to contribute to the JOTPY archive.
• 
  2020-09-10

  Mental Health Care Was Severely Inequitable, Then Came the Coronavirus Crisis

  This article describes how the Covid-19 pandemic has compounded the mental health disparity in the United States. As the title suggests, those suffering from mental illness already did not receive equitable treatment; the pandemic has widened this inequality through a variety of issues, chiefly, disruption of service that was already minimal.
• 
  2021-01-02

  2021 Predictions

  I actually agree with most of these predictions. I fear for the economy. I worry about the struggle people will face this year.
• 
  2020-12-12

  Nurse Fighting for Racial Equality in Healthcare

  This is a video of a nurse who volunteered to go to New York and help out with the COVID-19 pandemic in hospitals. She was overwhelmed at the number of patients she had that were Hispanic, Black, Latino, and Middle Eastern, and other people of color. It was clear to her that they were being disproportionately affected by this pandemic and chose to march in protests along with them. The acts of Becca Cooper, and the stories she told her audience about, amplify the voices of marginalized groups by speaking out about it and making people aware of these communities and how heavily they are being affected. I think 2020 has also been a year of protests to fight for equal rights and that speaks out to my generation as well. I know a lot of people who have participated in these protests and it goes to show how my generation is standing up for what we believe in, much like Becca Cooper did for her patients.
• 
  2020-12-07

  Connecting the Past to the Present

  This is important to me because I see so many people disregard events of the past and assume we are so much better now. But that is not true as we all have flaws that we must work on. Flaws that many assume are ancient history and would no longer exist in 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/sep/29/women-better-off-far-from-equal-men https://globaledge.msu.edu/blog/post/54484/working-conditions-in-the-textile-indust
• 
  2020-11-17

  Women Face Unique Issues During Pandemic

  For millions of working women, the coronavirus pandemic has delivered a rare and ruinous setback. Job losses, childcare closings and remote schooling are not just pushing women out of jobs they held, but also preventing many from seeking new ones.
• 
  2020-11-18

  As COVID-19 soars in many communities, schools attempt to find ways through the crisis

  As schools reopened around the world, countries saw surges in new COVID-19 cases. In response, some countries have re-closed schools while others have remained upon and employed strict guidelines.
• 
  2020-10-14

  The kids aren't all right: COVID-19-fueled stress eating, inequities, lack of fitness expected to boost obesity, experts say

  Social distance and virtual learning have taken a toll on children with many turning to stress eating for comfort. Additionally, children from lower-income households are at high risk for obesity due to usually having to rely on cheaper, lower quality food. These factors, coupled with lack of exercise, had led to a small uptick in childhood obesity cases, with more expected to come, during COVID-19.
• 
  2020-10-27

  Green Bay Packers tackle Social Justice

  The Green Bay Packers have pledged to help Social Justice within their local community. The rise from organizations to help social inequality measures have continued throughout the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and it seems the influence from Social Justice protests (like Black Lives Matters) have influenced recognition in all places in the United States. The Green Bay Packers are another organization that recognizes these Social Justice inequalities and have donated $250,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations that will help develop education and economic structures for minority communities. The outreach from an NFL organization has increased the effort towards Social Justice reform.
• 
  2020-11-01

  The mental health toll of COVID-19

  The stress and isolation caused by COVID-19 have had adverse effects on people. Many of those with mental health issues have seen their conditions while others are suffering from heightened stress. Mental health clinics have seen an increased demand that has led to week-long wait times and minorities are having a harder time getting help.
• 
  2020-03-16

  As Coronavirus Deepens Inequality, Inequality Worsens its Spread

  The main point of the news article is to explain why people with lower incomes and people who live in poverty are at higher risk of contracting COVID 19. Additionally, the article highlights the struggles that people who have to work during the pandemic face, like their company not taking enough safety precautions for their workers. I chose this article because it is important that people are aware of the communities that are the most at risk and most impacted by the pandemic. It is important that each country addresses this issue and makes steps to protect and help these people with their situation, especially during a pandemic. This news article reveals the communities of people that were at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows how this pandemic impacted and further harmed impoverished communities. This news article is important because it highlights a large group of people who are being put at risk. The article calls attention to all countries that people that are impoverished or have a lower income are more likely now to struggle. Additionally the article warns that there could be a larger set back in these communities, since it is more likely that these people will contract COVID-19. The article is very non-bias. I was surprised when reading this article that it was not biased, because this article could have easily included an opinion about the U.S. government's stance on free health care and how that could improve the situation for those at risk, but it did not. The responsibility of the media during the COVID-19 pandemic is to inform the public on ways to stay safe, new updates (deaths, infected, vaccine, etc), state and country precautions being taken, and ways to help. Especially during a pandemic the public turns to the media to stay informed, so it is important that the media provides the public with a lot of information to ease their minds possibly.
• 
  2020-10-05

  The Covid Economy Carves Deep Divide Between Haves and Have-Nots

  Large portions of the population are struggling economically due to the pandemic but others are secure in their jobs. This is leading to a deepening inequality between groups. This is important to me as it gives those of us who have been lucky during this pandemic with a different viewpoint
• 
  2020-06-18

  "LGBTQ Inequality and Vulnerability in the Pandemic"

  "Around the world, LGBTQ people are more vulnerable to the pandemic — especially where their status intersects with poverty."
• 
  2020-08

  COVID-19 AND THE ESCALATING MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS AMONG BIPOC AND IMMIGRANTS

  The purpose of “COVID-19 and the Escalating Mental Health Crisis among BIPOC and Immigrants” is to analyze the already existing socioeconomic conditions in BIPOC and immigrant communities that perpetuate mental health stigma and are also causes for the rising mental health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research project aims to investigate generational trauma and its correlation to the pressurizing notion of the ‘essential worker,’ how the silence of trauma creates stigma, and the lack of representation and affordable mental health resources for low-income BIPOC and immigrants.
• 
  2020-09-08

  America's Battle for Equality

  This essay was produced as a part of the American Studies program at California High School in San Ramon, California. The essay is in response to the prompt "Is America currently living up to its core values?" This essay argues that America is currently not living up to one of its key values, equality, because of the racial disparity and gender inequality that still happen in today’s society. For example, there is still police brutality against black Americans and the Pink Tax. People now are protesting against these issues and bringing light to inequality in America, especially in support of black Americans.
• 
  2020-06-06

  COVID Cant Stop Us

  COVID-19 has affected the entire world and continues to create a separation between humanity as we are confined into our homes and spaces the exist 6ft away from human contact. But this pandemic did not bring the demise to the inhumane, inequal, racist treatment that people face daily. You would think that in a time of need that people would band together and rise above such actions. But, the pandemic did not stop us from using our voices to fight for Black lives and justice for all people in America. As people pooled together to rise above racism and inequality. The collection of pictures, in this post, is so intriguing as you can still see everyone at these protests maintaining a distance of 6 feet and wearing masks to protect others. It seems so powerful that through all the hate and social injustice that everyone could mass together to show care and love back into the world. These images are so important to the history of COVID as it shows how much it impacted the people in these images, but didn't stop an even GREATER movement in history.
• 
  2020-04-27

  Plague Journal, Day 45: CoronaWorld oral history, high school teacher

  I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. Here's the latest entry, in which I interview an NYC public high school teacher about the struggles she and her students are facing in CoronaWorld:
• 
  2020-06-29

  Pretrial Policies Drive Jail Growth

  This Twitter screenshot of a graph illustrating the number of people in the nations jails waiting for trial far outweighs the number of people who have been convicted of a crime. The covid crisis has exposed the make up of the jail population and has also brought to light the reason so many people are awaiting trial in jail. They are awaiting trial in jail, more often than not, because they cannot afford to pay bail to be released. While the pandemic, like all disasters, effects people of color and low income disproportionately, it has also shed a light on the inequity of the bail system and caused people to wonder if those in the nation's jails and prisons deserve to risk dying from the virus.
• 
  2020-06-16

  Medical supplies and social class

  The image title reads, "Oxígeno para loncheras/oxygen for lunchboxes," and states "solo si tienes un montón de plata/only if you have a ton of money." This implies, that like the U.S. medicine and healthcare can divide people along class lines, and the best medical care is available to those who can afford it.
• 
  2020-06-14

  Black Lives Matter, but Flint still doesn't have clean water

  I grew up in Michigan, and I still feel connected to the struggle residents in Flint face for clean drinking water, and in general the environmental health violations that get overlooked every day in the name of private interests. I saw this Tweet in my feed, and I'm not sure how to process it. Yes, Flint still doesn't have clean water and it's a problem, but for me this is another facet of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Police reform & brutality are one component, yes- but the overarching umbrella of racism and the negligence of a healthy municipal water supply are connected to that fight.
• 
  2020-05-29

  Why welcoming cannot thrive as long as racism persists

  This statement from Welcoming America unites a response to the Black Lives Matter protests in response to the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd with the larger injustices and disparities based on race and immigrant status made more visible because of the pandemic.
• 
  2020-05-27

  Coronavirus pandemic exposes inequality in Ecuador's Guayaquil

  "Ecuador Indigenous community fears extinction from coronavirus (1:48)"
• 
  2020-05-19

  How environmental racism is fuelling the coronavirus pandemic

  News about the disproportionate death rates among the black community has been unnerving to many people, including myself. Why is this the case? In this article, Harriet Washington explores how environmental racism has contributed to this due to poverty, access to health care, and living conditions, among other factors. White privilege is sweeping, and I have certainly benefited from it in too many ways to name. I think it's important for all white people to use the power of their privilege to lift the voices of marginalized people and advocate for the reforms necessary to ameliorate injustices and inequalities.
• 
  2020-05-27

  Contrast

  People took notice as the pandemic protesters (mostly white) screamed in officers faces with no harm coming to them. While black Americans meet with police brutality in staggering numbers.
• 2020-04-22

  Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups

  This is an report form the CDC giving statistics of the rate in when Black and Brown people are disproportionately affected by COVID-19
• 
  2020-04-23

  Pope Francis's Twitter Message

  • This tweet is from Pope Francis on April 23, 2020. His message sums up the importance of unity in our world during critical times like this. In the midst of a pandemic, we need to be reminded that all lives matter, despite our differences. We must come together as one and help each other. #CSUS #HIST15H
• 
  2020-04-02

  The Apocalypse as an ‘Unveiling’: What Religion Teaches Us About the End Times

  This article discusses the different religious viewpoints in relation to how the epidemic and apocalypse can affect the livelihood of each religion and its following and how they continue to practice in such trying times.
• 
  2020-04-07

  Are we creating safe and stable spaces for our children?

  Reflection of India's education system during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-18

  Celebrities be like

  shows the inequality between celebrities and the average person, as celebrities were trying to relate to them