Collected Item: “Meeka Caldwell Oral History, 2022/07/15”
Title
Meeka Caldwell
Who conducted the interview? List all names, separated by comma.
Kit Heintzman
Who was interviewed? List all names, separated by commas.
Meeka Caldwell
Email Address(es) for all interviewers. Separated by comma.
kheintzman@gmail.com
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your oral history. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
#author, #Black, #boundaries, #coughing, #disability, #DownsSyndrome, #environmentalism, #family, #food, #GeorgeFloyd, #gratitude, #groceries, #marriage, #Maryland, #medicalracism, #motherhood, #race, #racism, #tinnitus, #television, #touch
What is the format of your recording?
Video
In what ZIP code is the primary residence of the interviewee? (enter 5-digit ZIP code; for example, 00544 or 94305)? In what city/town/village does the interviewee live? In what country does the interviewee live? All comma-separated.
Maryland
What is the gender of the interviewee? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their gender in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a gender identity to interviewees.*
Female she/her
What is the age of the interviewee?
45 to 54
How does the interviewee describe their race or ethnicity? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their race/ethnicity in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a racial or ethnic identity to interviewees.*
Black
Describe the oral history.
Some of the things we discussed include:
Being a mother in a blended family with 6 children.
Getting sick circa Thanksgiving 2019-February 2020.
Working at an environmental nonprofit and hearing about the pandemic through colleagues who were scientists. Climate change.
Children’s understanding of the pandemic; having honest conversations about fear and mortality; one child entering therapy.
Teaching son with Down’s Syndrome safety precautions.
Husband needing to continue working outside of the home; deepening relationship with husband.
Making the home a more pleasurable environment to isolate in as a family.
Having a love/hate relationship with the medical profession.
Medical racism and struggling for diagnosis and treatment; needing to advocate for self and children.
Being able to tell when a doctor cares and is actually listening.
Slowing down and having time.
Racial reckoning in the USA immediately after the murder of George Floyd.
Navigating COVID safety boundaries in social relationships; assumptions about judgment; withholding judgment.
Fear of coughing and sneezing in public.
Moving from frenzy to calm.
Emotion reactions to the changes in grocery store layouts and movements.
Food and health.
Changing relationship with technology, media consumption, and education.
Not learning enough about Native American and Black history in high school, learning more after attending a Historically Black College.
See also:
https://www.brownbaby321.org
https://littlelobbyists.org/blog/2020/12/16/share-the-journey-with-jeneva-loving-anian-with-meeka-caldwell
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/83-a-friend-like-anian-with-meeka-caldwell/id602494060?i=1000490096261
Being a mother in a blended family with 6 children.
Getting sick circa Thanksgiving 2019-February 2020.
Working at an environmental nonprofit and hearing about the pandemic through colleagues who were scientists. Climate change.
Children’s understanding of the pandemic; having honest conversations about fear and mortality; one child entering therapy.
Teaching son with Down’s Syndrome safety precautions.
Husband needing to continue working outside of the home; deepening relationship with husband.
Making the home a more pleasurable environment to isolate in as a family.
Having a love/hate relationship with the medical profession.
Medical racism and struggling for diagnosis and treatment; needing to advocate for self and children.
Being able to tell when a doctor cares and is actually listening.
Slowing down and having time.
Racial reckoning in the USA immediately after the murder of George Floyd.
Navigating COVID safety boundaries in social relationships; assumptions about judgment; withholding judgment.
Fear of coughing and sneezing in public.
Moving from frenzy to calm.
Emotion reactions to the changes in grocery store layouts and movements.
Food and health.
Changing relationship with technology, media consumption, and education.
Not learning enough about Native American and Black history in high school, learning more after attending a Historically Black College.
See also:
https://www.brownbaby321.org
https://littlelobbyists.org/blog/2020/12/16/share-the-journey-with-jeneva-loving-anian-with-meeka-caldwell
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/83-a-friend-like-anian-with-meeka-caldwell/id602494060?i=1000490096261
On what date did you record this oral history?
2022-07-15T13:02