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Collected Item: “L.M. Bennett Oral History, 2022/10/18”

Title

L.M. Bennett

Who conducted the interview? List all names, separated by comma.

Kit Heintzman

Who was interviewed? List all names, separated by commas.

L.M. Bennett

Email Address(es) for all interviewers. Separated by comma.

kheitnzman@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?

#apps, #asymptomatic, #author, #Black, #birthday, #engagement, #immunocompromised, #masking, #motherhood, #NewJersey, #NewYork, #Oregon, #police, #Portland, #queer, #remote, #vaccination, #Virginia, #Woodbridge

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.

Woodbridge, Virginia

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/AFAB

What is the age of the interviewee?

35 to 44

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/non-Hispanic

Describe the oral history.

Some of the things we discussed include:
Being immunocompromised, and living with mother who is also immunocompromised; being mother’s primary caregiver.
Working in healthcare, COVID policy.
Going from long cross-state commutes to remote work; comparisons between zombie hoards and pre-pandemic public transit.
New Jersey and New York having lockstep COVID policies.
Economy motivating health policy.
Living in a predominantly Black community at the beginning of the pandemic, and appreciating the cooperation in the community.
Privilege and entitlement’s relationship with breaking COVID policies.
Being in a long distance relationship, getting engaged; visiting fiance in Portland, Oregon; long distance anniversaries.
Delaying a milestone birthday celebration; spending 40th birthday alone.
Delaying routine medical procedures, eg. mammogram.
Mother’s extended hospital stay.
Socializing on the Clubhouse app.
The writing process.
Having had an asymptomatic case of COVID.
Easy access to vaccination when working for a hospital.
Limited access to mental health services in the USA.
BLM and police brutality.
Fear of calling for mental health support for a friend; the risk that a calling 911 will end in harm/death.
Safety and freedom of movement.

Cultural references: Mortal Kombat, Ms. PacMan, The Jackson 5, Governor Phil Murphy and Governor Andrew Cuomo, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Great British Bake Off, Max Brooks’s World War Z (2006), The Woman King (2022)

See also:
https://www.lmbennett.com/
https://anchor.fm/cherry-hibiscus-tea
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/linnea-presents-unpacking-the-box/id1474549340?i=1000496718283

On what date did you record this oral history?

2022-10-18T16
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