STUDENT NAME: Anonymous

MY COVID EXPERIENCE:

My COVID-19 experience was quite traumatic and stressful but surprisingly an eye opener. During the time of the first lockdown in March 2020 I decided to drop out of the university for a semester because my anxiety and depression got worse considering all my coping mechanisms involved going out. At this time everything was closed and I had no access to malls or restaurants hence why my mental health got worse. Furthermore, having to see family members get COVID-19 and the pain they went through was unbelievably hurtful to watch while they facetime me from the hospital. Fast forward a few months later there was a video all over the internet showing the murder of George Floyd. Which caused me to be even more depressed because I kept seeing people of colour crying out for help and the government just was not doing anything. As a black woman it was hard for me to know that some of the people I considered friends turned out to be racist. And I only found out this information when comments were made on this video. COVID-19 to me is not only about the virus itself but also the social injustices that happened during this period.

This picture shows the people walking during the protest. Two women are holding their phones in their hands recording the event. While others are holding posters with something saying Black Lives Matter. This image tells the story that people have had enough and are fighting for justice.

Black Lives Matter Protest

Photo By: Joshua Kennedy

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND RELATIONSHIP TO COVID-19: :

The story behind putting this photo in the archive has to deal with my experience during COVID-19. The object here are all the bristol boards with words on them. As mentioned earlier it was truly hard for me seeing all these posts on twitter, Instagram and Facebook surrounding the death of George Floyd. But not only the death caused things to be hard but also the fact that people were fed up and were finally speaking out against racism. Seeing all these stories caused me to cry whenever I opened my media. Yes, police brutality has been happening for years, but this was the final straw. This right here touched many and we had to protest to have our voice heard. This picture is connected to the memory of when a family member was driving over to the states for work. He stopped at a gas station and was approached by two police officers who then decided to arrest him. Keep in mind he did nothing wrong and was arrested just because he was a black man in a white neighbourhood buying something at the gas station. He called and alerted the family about what was happening, and I just remember us praying that he lived while being arrested. To me this was such a horrific thing to experience I could not even imagine how families who have lost an individual due to this feel. Everything that happened was an eye opener to me because not one day in my life I thought I would have seen the whole world standing in solidarity with us (people of colour).

PRIMARY SOURCE DESCRIPTION:

The reason behind selecting this primary source was because as someone who lost their job because of this pandemic I truly sympathize with people who are working throughout it all. Every day individuals are putting their lives at risk to make an honest dollar. This might help future historians because the letter explains what workers need from the government. They are expressing that they need “higher protection because of aerosol transmission of the virus”. They are asking for urgent action considering how deadly COVID-19 is. This is something that affects every single person that leaves their home daily to work with the public. People that are affected by this cannot afford to work from home and are asking the government to do their job. I have attached just part of the letter but you can access the rest at https://ofl.ca/open-letter-to-premier-ford-and-mpps-elliott-and-mcnaughton-a-call-to-protect-ontario-workers-from-covid-19/

PRIMARY SOURCE:

In this photograph it is a letter addressed to premier Ford and MPP'S Elliott and McNaughton to protect Ontario workers. This letter was sent to help create better protection for all workers in the province.

Letter

NEWSPAPER HEADLINE This news article talks about how George Floyd lost his life while in police custody. In this screenshot of the news article is a link to the video of him being murdered by a police officer.

This news article talks about how George Floyd lost his life while in police custody. In this screenshot of the news article is a link to the video of him being murdered by a police officer.

PERSONAL REACTION TO THIS HEADLINE

My personal reaction to this headline was the exact same when I saw the almost 8 minutes video of George Floyd’s murder on twitter. In this graphic video you can see the police officer on Mr. Floyd’s neck for a long period of time causing him to die. To further explain my reaction, I want you, the reader, to put yourself in my shoes. I open my social media and all I see is another unarmed black brother being killed just for being black. It is already hard being a black person in North America. Everyday we live in fear. Imagine having to tell your children not to walk in certain areas at night or even how to dress when attending certain events. For all the time I have spent in North America I feel like I constantly have to watch over my shoulders is like I am consistently living my life in fear. I remember a police officer tailing my father’s car while driving to another city and the fear everyone had in the car words cannot begin to describe it. This officer was following us for almost 30 minutes and it was only because my father is a black man that he proceeded to give us a ticket. Now to be 100% clear we were not speeding but because of the colour of his skin this officer pulled us over. It’s absolutely crazy that he even wanted to look inside the car but at this time we were just trying to get to our destination safely. Now this is relevant to the story because all I know is that whenever black people are stopped by the cops while walking, biking or driving we always have to wonder, are we going to make it home after this? All I could have done in this moment was speak out against the injustices while I cried everyday because us people of colour need to be heard. We have been suffering for many years by the hands of the people whose ancestors enslaved us. I have attached link to the news article so you the reader can see if yourself. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html

VISUALIZING COVID-19

This infographic of COVID-19 focuses on the different variants of the virus explaining each type and what country they were discovered in. For example, the B. 1.1.7. which was discovered in the United Kingdom which spreads 50% more easily while the B.1.351. is better at evading the immune system. The variants they listed were more contagious and quite deadly. The infographic also touched on ways to limit the spread. Now the information listed here, you will see everywhere washing your hands frequently, wearing a mask and most importantly keeping physical distance. This data is from the Biomedical Communications department at the University of Toronto. https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/covid19-resources

COVID Q&A

Describe the moment you realized how serious COVID-19 was:

The moment I relaized is when my family member got the virus itself. After seeing this person being isolated and my entire family praying for their recovery.

What did you learn about yourself or the people you live with during COVID-19?

I learnt how important family is during COVID-19 and to not take anything for granted.

Other than wearing a mask, what was the biggest change you made to your daily life? Do you think this change will remain when all lockdowns are lifted?

N/A

Have you learned any new skills during the pandemic?

N/A

How do you feel about university education in the last year?

I feel like the university is doing all they can considering no one expected this outbreak to happen. Overall school was hard but once I took everything one step at a time, I was able to finish my semester.

List one positive thing and one negative thing you'll take away from 2020:

N/A

What is the best movie or TV show you've watched, or the best book you've read, in the past 18 months?

The best TV show I have watched in the past 18 months is Lucifer.

How large of an impact do you think COVID-19 has had on your mental health?

COVID-19 had a major impact on my mental health as I mentioned earlier. All the ways I coped with my issues involved being outside. I had to learn how to calm myself indoors.

How has technology impacted your life during lockdown?

I always enjoyed using technology however I spend more time online than usual watching videos and that's how the lockdown impacted my life.

How has the pandemic brought wider acknowledgement to systemic racism in Canada?

The pandemic brought wider acknowledgment to systemic racism in Canada by people protesting. You cannot link this pandemic without mentioning the amount of protest that has happened in the past few months. People want their voices heard!

In what ways do you envision society changing due to the pandemic?

I envision people being more sanitary. Only because of the pandemic will I see people washing their hands often, when they should have been doing this before the pandemic. I also know that it will take a while for things to go back to normal.

Now that you are done with both the course and your additions to the archive, is there anything you'd like to reflect on?

N/A