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Social Issues
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2020-08-05My Friend Died in San Quentin Due to Covid-19. His Death Was Entirely Preventable.
Written by Adnan Khan, a formerly incarcerated person and criminal justice reform advocate, this article explains the death of his friend from Covid and how it was preventable. -
2020-08-05hermit HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 53
Pandemic, "truth" keeps changing -
2020-06-01"PACIFIC ISLANDERS UNITE TO FIGHT COVID AMIDST EXTREME CLIMATE CHANGE EVENTS"
"COVID-19, measles, and dengue fever are not the only risks the Pacific islands face. These island nations collectively emit less than one percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, yet they disproportionately experience the impacts of the climate crisis. There are 20 sovereign island nations in the Pacific, with between 20,000-30,000 islands covering more than 16 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean. The region possesses one of the world’s richest biodiversities and unique cultures, with more than 1,500 Indigenous spoken languages. Papua New Guinea alone is home to well over 800 Indigenous languages, more than most other countries in the world. The remoteness of this constellation of islands within the southern hemisphere puts the region at a distinct advantage over COVID-19. However, relatively small land masses with growing populations heighten the region’s susceptibility to the multiplicative effects of the measles and dengue fever epidemics, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the brutal impacts of climate change." -
2020-06-01"Kaw Nation COVID Assistance"
"This application will be used for any Kaw Nation Tribal Member who is currently experiencing a financial hardship due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The Kaw Nation will provide some assistance to help you during this time. You must be an enrolled Kaw Nation Tribal member and at least 18 years of age and not received other COVID-19 funding from the Kaw Nation." -
2020-07-26Trekking to Glendale for the Splash Pad
Everything in Tempe has been closed since late March. Well, almost everything. The bars and restaurants have opened and re-closed. By contrast, playgrounds, splash pads, and pools have stayed closed. It’s been so hard not be able to take the kids somewhere to burn off energy. But, because of the inconsistency in state and municipal responses, the counties surrounding Tempe have different rules. That means we can go to a swimming pool in Chandler or a splash pad in Chandler. I realize that taking the kids anywhere in a pandemic is polemical, but they need a break from the monotony. It’s way too hot during the day (111-118 F) to just go on a bike ride or walk around the neighborhood. Therefore, we have to do something with water. We don’t go out every weekend, but we try to get out once in a while. My 6yo is struggling the most, she misses her friends, she misses school, and I feel like these outings help with morale. -
2020-04-27Plague 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: -
2020-07-19Celia Capira pide ayuda al presidente Martín Vizcarra
Celia Capira y su familia se hicieron conocidos, luego que ella corriera tras la comitiva del presidente Martín Vizcarra que llegó hasta Arequipa. Capira pedía ayuda para su esposo que se contagió de la COVID-19, a quien no recibían en dicho hospital porque no había camas disponibles. Las autoridades de Arequipa se comprometieron a trasladar a su esposo Mamani Tacuri a una cama en la unidad de cuidados intensivos; sin embargo nunca cumplieron. Él ingreso el martes pasado por problemas al respirar, fiebre y tos; estuvo esperando por una cama a las afueras del hospital honorio Delgado Espinoza ahí su salud empeoró. En diálogo con RPP Noticias, Celia Capira manifestó que el personal que atendía a su esposo, en una de las carpas del hospital, siempre le manifestó que él se encontraba estable. “Hoy le llevé el desayuno y me dijeron que estaba estable, con una saturación de 93”. Ella invocó al presidente de la República Martín Vizcarra que se dote de más personal médico a los hospitales de Arequipa. “Que por favor ponga más médicos especializados por favor, es demasiado este dolor, que haya más medicinas. FECHA 7/19/20 FUENTE: Frase Corta -
2020-07-24Rapid relief grants aid Arizona's vulnerable populations
ASU Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict receives $150K to help groups serving communities hit hard by pandemic In Arizona, some of the communities hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic have been the same communities whose plight often goes unnoticed — refugees, asylum-seekers, DACA recipients, mixed-status migrants and Native American tribes. In a move that is new to the Arizona State University Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, it has been able to award grants ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 to 13 separate organizations serving the state’s most vulnerable communities, after receiving $150,000 in funding from the Henry Luce Foundation. -
2020-07-17Getting Out Of Prison Sooner
This NPR Planet Money podcasts discusses extremely long sentences, early release due to change in laws, particularly in Oklahoma, the cost of incarceration, and criminal justice reform from the ideal of physical conservatism. Plus a brief mention of early release due to the pandemic. -
2020-07-27Protesters chained to governor's home as prison deaths mount
In an effort to urge the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, to release people incarcerated at the state's prisons and jails, and stop immigration transfers, protestors chained themselves to the fence outside the governors home. The fourteen protestors were wearing surgical masks and face shields to protect from the spread of the coronavirus. The protest was organized by the California Liberation Collective. The fourteen protestors that chained themselves to the fence were accompanied by many others calling for action in light of the continued death toll the virus is having on incarcerated populations, particularly at San Quentin Prison. -
2020-07-16Volunteers Make Music Videos, Share Hobbies and Stories, to Help Dementia Patients and Older Adults Isolated by COVID-19
Massachusetts-based organization Generus volunteers to help with isolation felt by seniors in care facilities by making videos to ensure they know they aren't forgotten. -
2020-07-24
Philip Melendez Oral History 2020/07/24
Philip Melendez was born and raised in Sacramento, California. His interactions with the police began in high school. He later committed a crime and served almost twenty years in prison. He was released from prison a few years ago and now works for Restore Justice, a California based non-profit, focused on criminal justice reform. Now married, with three grown children, he discusses his thoughts on the criminal justice system, reform, and the impact of COVID-19 on the incarcerated population within the United States, specifically California. (Note there is about two minutes of empty recording at the beginning of the Mp4 file.) -
2020-07-26Inmates witnessed a suicide attempt. They received coloring pages instead of counseling.
After requesting support for mental health issues four time a covid positive inmate set the medical isolation unit they were in on fire. That's where this article begins but it covers much more about the lack of mental healthcare inside prisons and its effect on inmates during the pandemic. -
2020-07-25119 New Covid cases in the last two weeks inside California prisons
This Tweet shows the continuing crisis inside of the nation's prisons. Five months into the pandemic and the virus is still spreading like wildfire. -
2020-07-19Tweets from Inside a Prison 7/19-7/25/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These Tweets are from an incarcerated person at San Quentin Prison in California. He is posting to social media using a contraband cell phone in an effort to let the public know what is happening inside the prison during the Coronavirus pandemic. These weeks he talks about having to choose between waiting in line for a ten minute phone call and taking a shower, the long term health effects he is realizing will be with him from his bout with Covid-19, the high number of inmates refusing to take a Covid test because if they test positive they will be placed in solitary confinement, the hole, as quarantine. -
2020-07-12Tweets from Inside a Prison 7/12-7/18/2020 by Railroaded Underground
This Tweet is from a person incarcerated inside San Quentin Prison in California. They are posting with a contraband cell phone. This week they mention finally getting a shower, the death of Covid positive inmates, Black Lives Matter, Covid testing, people who test positive being put in solitary confinement, the hole, as a quarantine, and the mixing of negative and positive Covid people together. -
2020-07-26Hand sanitizer donation accepted at San Quentin never reached the inmates
These are images of a Tweet and the responses explaining how rapper, E-40, donated hand sanitizer to San Quentin for their incarcerated people and it never got to a single inmate. Many of the respondents believe the prison staff took it for their own use or to sell it. -
2020-06-0906/09/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he questions if the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is ready or even has a plan to deal with the pandemic. Mentions Fox News discussing Covid safety protocols within correctional facilities, how inmates are not adhering to the guidelines etc, all while showing old, stock footage of inmates in a prison. By using old stock footage of course the viewer is lead to believe that inmates are not following the rules to help slow the spread of the virus. Though he readily admits there are a few "non-adherents who place us all at risk." -
2020-06-0606/06/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he talks about twenty inmates that had been transferred from Chino testing positive for Covid, a prison with known positive cases, being transferred to San Quentin, a prison that until now had been Covid negative. He states that this isn't simply a case of incompetence on the part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) but is a criminally negligent act. He also attempts to interview other inmates on the situation and even people who are normally calm and talkative don't want to talk because the situation is so depressing. -
2020-06-0506/05/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today's post is very brief. He only mentions at least seven more confirmed cases of Covid-19. All information is flowing by word of mouth, not through any official channels and how tough it is to get accurate information. -
2020-06-0106/01/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today the writer reflects on the news coverage since George Floyd's murder and President Trump hiding out in his "battle basement." He mentions Trump praising the police while blaming Antifa. He mentions a moment of hope because Fox News was discussing Covid hitting black communities harder but then realized they are only doing this to help Trump woo black voters. He also checked in on rumors of two men testing positive for Covid. These two men do appear to be sick and were part of over one hundred men that were transferred in from another prison. [I suspect these men were from Chino prison]. -
2020-04-1104/11/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he discusses several nurses and corrections officers being escorted off the prison grounds. One was a lieutenant that had been coming to work while sick. He and several other officers worked in the canteen, where the entire 4,000 person population of the prison goes. The writer suspects the only reason they've left the canteen open is because it produces a good amount of revenue for the prison. -
2020-07-12Katrina Beattie Oral History, 2020/07/12
Lawson Miller of Tooele, Utah conducts an interview with Katrina Beattie of Lancaster, California. In this interview, Katrina explains how the pandemic has affected her job as a teacher, her role as a mother, and the impact of Covid-19 on her family and community. Katrina expresses her hopes for the future and offers insight about the local, state, and federal government response to the pandemic. -
2020-06-17Numb
As I gear up to teach high school remotely this fall, many members of my community are demanding "robust" and "rigorous" curriculum with a live daily bell schedule. We have received the opportunity to train on a host of technologies. Conversations are centered around ensuring that students do not fall behind academically. For me, these topics are misguided. How can we teach students rigorous academics without first addressing their emotional well being and the state of their mental health? If we truly want students to learn this year, we need to first focus on who they are and what they need as humans. Only then can true learning occur. Numb, created by Liv McNeil - a 9th grade student in Canada, captures what many of our students are likely experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope that global education systems can prioritize the mental well being of our students over "rigorous" and "robust" curriculum. -
2020-07-25
Danville School Lunch Delivery Service "ChoiceLunch" Helping Serve The Community
An East Bay school lunch delivery company is switching gears to help serve the community during the coronavirus pandemic. KCBS Radio's Carrie Hodousek has details of the partnership between ChoiceLunch in Danville and the Alameda County Food Book. -
2020-07-15Mangá Tulang Lockdown ni Adíng Kiko, dps
[Lockdown Poetry by Ading Kiko, dps] -
2020-07-01COVID-19 Cases Surge In ICE Detention article
"The number of immigrants with COVID-19 in Immigration Customs Enforcement custody has risen rapidly. More than 2,700 detainees nationwide have tested positive, according to ICE data, and the Eloy detention facility is among the hardest hit by the pandemic. More than 200 detainees there have tested positive — a tenfold increase in less than three weeks." NPR published an article highlighting the vast spread of COVID amongst immigrants in detention centers. As the pandemic has spread, ICE has continued to arrest and hold detainees in detention centers, while not providing safety measures to curb or prevent the spread of the virus. -
2020-06-17Dear Black Graduates: Life Advice from Your Neighbors
Everyday Boston video featuring advice from Black community members in Boston, giving advice and motivation to recent graduates during the pandemic Video caption: Our love/strength letter to Black graduates of BPS and beyond, featuring congrats and life advice from older members of the Black community in Boston. -
2020-07-11Honey Bear Hunt in San Francisco
Across San Francisco, honey bears wearing masks - created by the artist fnnch - are popping up on storefronts and in resident's windows. The message is clear, "Please wear a mask. It's simple." The featured bears are masked versions of the Bowie Bear, the Bowtie Bear, the Classic Bear, the Pizza Bear holding a BLM sign, the Love Bear near a sign that reads "Hey Honey! Let's stick together." and the Avocado Bear. The originator of this post is also wearing a Honey Bear mask created by fnnch and included a photo of his mask collection that sits near his front door. -
2020-07-11T02:53
Isn’t it strange?
Through this pandemic, we were tested as a society on how strong our morals, values, and beliefs are. We were exposed to how fragile our ideals are and how far we truely are from a perfect world. -
2020-07-16Covid shuffle in corrections facilities
These images show the Tweet of Adnan Khan, a formerly incarcerated person and activist. Adnan explains that corrections facilities are moving people all over the prison and between facilities. The result is spread of the corona virus when the officials are charged with slowing the spread. -
2020-07-15Inmates, Correctional Officers Concerned About Growing Number of COVID Cases at Miami Prison
In normal times it is customary for inmates and guards to be on opposite sides of nearly any issue. This article shows the opposite. Inmates and corrections officers in south Florida are both concerned about Covid in their facilities. -
2020-04-1004/10/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he mentions that Fox News has stated Covid-19 is the number one cause of death in the U.S. and it is recommended that everyone wear a face mask. This makes it extra problematic when none of the guards in the facility are wearing a mask. This inmates posits it is a way to say they don't matter. He also notes the over masculine culture of prison workers and that the prison work environment may be just as toxic to work in as it is to live in. -
2020-04-0604/06/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he explains a news story he saw on Democracy Now. The story says 16 states have begun releasing prisoners but New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has resisted even with hundreds of inmates and facility employees testing positive. -
2020-03-2703/27/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he explains that they learned from a guard, Governor Gavin Newsom, has stopped all prison transfers in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. He also notes that the guards on the transport teams fought against this measure because it would put them out of work. -
2020-07Tweets from Inside a Prison 7/5-7/11/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These images show the Twitter feed of an incarcerated person. They are Tweeting on a contraband cellphone as a way to show the public what it is like to be in prison during the pandemic. This week he reveals that he has Covid and is experiencing symptoms including, headache, nausea, shivering, sweating, and diarrhea. Another friend has been hospitalized. He shared a petition to gain early release for incarcerated persons and wonders how being left in a cell 24 hours a day is humane treatment for a sick person. -
2020-04-08What are the most fitting questions to ask at a Corona Seder?
Questions from my corona seder - in attachment -
2020/05/24
Malesia Lyles Oral History 2020/05/24
[Curator's Note] Interviewee tells the story of the illness in her family from November through March, and the steps she went through to get medical help. -
2020/05/20
Dang Yang Oral History, 2020/05/20
This interview is a part of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire HIST 486 seminar class, and its project The Chippewa Valley Covid-19 Archive. The professor is Dr. Cheryl Jimenez Frei. -
2020-07-03
"True Talk in Ten"
"True Talk in Ten" is podcast about climbing out of 2020 with hope, gratitude, and authenticity. Judy shares interviews, stories, books, music, and mindful ways to approach the hard truths about our past, present, and future in the era of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter. Judy Brewster is a 30 year educator and is currently an Elementary School Principal in Westchester County, NY. She is also a performing artist and community theater junkie. Give her 10 minutes, and she'll give you something to ponder in your classroom, at the office, in the green room, or around the fire pit! Stories are posted weekly. -
2020-06-05If You See Me Stealing a Penguin, Mind Your Business
During the first few days of the Black Lives Matter Protests, there was looting and rioting in some cities. This meme is a humorous statement about that looting. The creator claims he/she wants to steal a penguin if looting starts in Boston. Mind your business if you see him walking out holding one. -
2020-07-13
Pandemic, Depression, Uprising
My name is Emily Small Michon, I live in Seattle Washington, it is 1 in the afternoon on a day that used to be called Monday. When I first heard about Covid-19 I had no idea it would affect us this drastically. It felt surreal working at coffee shop watching children put toy dinosaurs in their mouths and how everyone seemed to start paying with cash in spite of the need to be more sanitary. Then I got sick, it was a weird 48 hour flu with a headache and throwing up accompanied by a very sore throat. The night after my headache and throwing up went away my lips were huge. They looked like they had been pumped full of Juvéderm injections or something. I tried to get tested but they told me I didn't meet the criteria since I didn't have a fever or shortness of breath. I was then fired from my job for "trying to get out of working." They sited that I had requested shift coverage from two shifts even before getting sick, they said it seemed like I “did not want to work”, and also mention that I had failed to stamp enough paper cups during my shifts and had had some interpersonal conflict with coworkers. There was a lot of drama at that job and I certainly was not the only one who had been part of the conflict. This all came without any prior complaints or disciplinary actions. Fortunately, I was still able to get unemployment since the company I worked for (Cafe Vita) is large and never responded to inquiry about my job separation. During this time my ex-boyfriend who was also my closest friend became being overly attentive, sweet and concerned about me. He would FaceTime me every day, he sent me a book he thought I would like in the mail and almost every morning would leave cute or funny animal videos in my inbox with messages like I hope you see this when you wake up and have a good day. This didn’t last very long and things turned a corner when I asked if he wanted to watch a movie together… like a shared screen sort of pandemic deal. He strangely responded with, "I don't know that seems like something people in a relationship do." It seemed completely ridiculous to think that you couldn't watch a movie together during a pandemic just as friends but I did want to be in relationship and this had been an area of contention for us for a while so I finally put my foot down and said I could not continue with things the way they were because it wasn't fair to me. It was really painful losing my favorite person, the person I was closest to and enjoyed talking with the most. I know this sort of loss is nothing compared to the stories of people who have lost loved ones. This was just beginning of course. Since then a massive uprising has begun that I feel particularly invested in and yet at the same still an outsider. I have not altogether found my place or decided how much I am willing to sacrifice. There are many people who are putting their body and their life on the line. I was out protesting the night Summer Taylor was killed. For those of you who don't know they were a young Seattle protester who was murdered by vehicular assault while protesting on I-5. The police neglected to blockade one of the off ramps though they had promised to secure the area, and that was their job and responsibility to do. The driver, Dawit Kelete, can be seen in a video maneuvering around two cars acting as safety barricades for the protesters who were chanting and dancing shortly before the brutal crime occurred. Another protester Diaz Love was also severely injured and for a time in critical condition. Upon regaining consciousness, Diaz was confronted with the death of their friend and an overwhelming amount of hate mail in their inbox. They still quickly posted that this would not affect their dedication to the cause. There have been over 60 recorded attempts of vehicular assault during the protests and with the current gains being made by the black lives matter movement. Since this is my personal story, I will tell you that I have also experienced cars acting like they want to run me over. The first was a cement truck who drove up onto the sidewalk towards me. The entire time the man glared at me from piercing blue eyes surrounded by sunburnt skin. This occurred in the capitol hill area somewhat near where the Cal Anderson protests were taking place. For those of you who don't know those were the protests where Seattle protesters received the brunt of police violence. Tear gas and munitions were utilized on an almost nightly basis, however the people persisted, and this led to the establishment of the Capitol Hill autonomous zone (CHAZ)...later known as the Capitol Hill occupied protest or CHOP. The other two incidents happened in my own neighbourhood on two different occasions when I was out for a run. I live in very white residential neighborhood in north Seattle. Both times the drivers made eye contact with me and I nearly had to jump out of the way. It confused me, sadly, because I am a white female and I am not used to experiencing this type of targeting. I am still baffled at what assumptions they would be making about me in my non-descript jogger’s clothes and my now natural hair color. Perhaps they assume all Seattleites are liberal? Maybe it was the inherent misogyny of white nationalists (I think we forget that they hate all women too), then again it could have just been angry men taking out pandemic related frustrations on vulnerable pedestrians....... I will never know. -
2020-04-05Plague Journal, Day 23: A Sumatran bus story
I'm keeping a Covid-19 journal. Today's entry, with more thoughts about my time in Indonesia, its parallels with New York City in CoronaWorld, and a bit about baking: -
2020-03-2403/24/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he explains the difference between lockdown and quarantine, the election of a new district attorney who appears to be focused on human rights, including those of the inmates, California jails, incarcerated labor and prison officers not wanting to be sent to work in the kitchen and then deliver food to each cell because they see it as waiting on the inmates and the implication of working for the inmates this produces. -
2020-03-2303/23/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he explains the officer signing people up for phone time is handling all of their IDs without wearing gloves and the person that was stationed at the phones, wiping them down between uses, is no where to be found. -
2020-03-2103/21/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he mentions an officer at the prison has tested positive and the only reason they found out was because it was "on the ticker", which I think is a reference to the scrolling info at the bottom of a news cast. -
2020-05-1805/18/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he discusses another inmate who has a release date but will be shipped off to an ICE detention facility. This inmate he explains was taken as a child from the "killing fields" of Cambodia. -
2020-03-2003/20/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he discusses the overnight emergence of signs like the one his cell mate created the day before, asking people not to touch the bars of the cell, the trans woman and man that live in the cell next door, the gradual dismantling of psych facilities years ago that have put many people from that population in prisons and the impact this has on any well meaning plans to slow the spread of covid, and that he will only be reporting the facts for a while because he will be using his writing talents to aid other inmates in writing up why they should be released early. -
2020-07-11Ottawa ACORN mobile clinic brings COVID tests to disabled, disadvantaged
"Saturday’s mobile clinic was organized by Ottawa ACORN, an advocacy group for low and moderate income families. It approached Ottawa Public Health to help organize the clinic, which was supported by The Ottawa Hospital, CHEO, Ottawa Inner City Health and the Ottawa Paramedic Service. The Ottawa Mission supplied hot meals to staff and those waiting to be tested, and the company Honey Group brought its mobile SMRT testing booth, which offers contactless testing." -
2020-07-01
‘They’re scared’: A look inside the COVID-19 crisis in Arizona prisons.
By Katelyn Keenehan | Luce Foundation: Southwest Stories Fellowship