COVID-19 Artifact Project

By Samantha Jaffe
Art - Cartoons by Alireza Pakdel

Citation:
Pakdel, Alireza. Heroes of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 2020. Instagram,
www.instagram.com/alirezapakdel_artist/. Accessed 4 June 2020.
Close Reading: Healthcare workers are the present-day heroes and are tirelessly working
to protect citizens against COVID-19.

Contextualization: The cartoons are drawn by an Iranian artist for a worldwide audience.
Art can serve as a form of inspiration and hope as well as a tribute to health care workers.
It represents the emotions and experiences of global citizens during this time. The images
can be seen and appreciated internationally; they transcend language and provide a
message that applies to all countries.

Limits: The images exaggerate the conditions and can be used by historians only as
indicators of social media and art trends regarding the virus.

Corroboration: The Covid Art museum, a virtual museum, collects art from the thousands
of Instagram users who are expressing themselves during this time. According to
Yorokobu, the creatives behind the museum display art with the knowledge that it
“transmit[s] and reflect[s] what we are all living and feeling … and in the future, all those
who are interested will be able to know how artists expressed themselves during this
time.”
News - Will Covid-19 have a lasting impact on the environment?

Citation:
Henriques, Martha. "Will Covid-19
have a lasting impact on the
environment?" BBC Future, BBC, 27
Mar. 2020, www.bbc.com/future/
article/20200326-covid-19-the-impa
ct-of-coronavirus-on-the-environm
ent. Accessed 6 June 2020
Close Reading: The amount of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have greatly
decreased due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Contextualization: Air quality, pollution, and emissions have all been extremely important
subjects in recent years as environmentalists recognize imminent global issues such as
global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer. The lockdown has caused an extreme
decrease in the use of cars, airplanes, and many factories, leading to a dip in emissions.
Scientists are wondering if the improved air quality will be a permanent environmental
change, or if the world will return to the state it was in once quarantine is lifted.

Limits: It is unknown if the change will be long-lasting, and no solid predictions can be
made since scientists do not know when the pandemic will end. There are few statistics
and there is only information on a few countries.

Corroboration: This article from the Human Rights Watch also recognizes how the lack of
aviation and driving has improved air pollution; however, it argues that COVID has actually
slowed progress by putting a halt to many new environmental laws and programs across
the world. It states that the bounceback when the lockdown is lifted may be much larger
than the small advances made during quarantine.
Government - Trump’s Response to BLM Protests

Citation:
Trump, Donald J. "@realDonald
Trump." Twitter, 29 May 2020,
twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/
status/1266231100780744704.
Accessed 8 June 2020.
Close Reading: Trump’s response to Black Lives Matter protests. President Trump criticized the
Minneapolis leadership in response to acts of violence during a Black Lives Matter protest. He
describes participants in the protests as “THUGS” and makes it clear that he approves the use of
extreme violence against protesters. Twitter, an objective party, specifically marked Trump's tweets as
a violation of the site’s rules for “glorifying violence.”

Contextualization: Amidst quarantine, several reports of acts of police brutality broke across the
nation. Perhaps the most discussed and widespread was the murder of George Floyd. Floyd, a black
man, was murdered by arresting officers who kneeled on him and prevented him from breathing. In
response came nationwide outrage and ultimately protests in all 50 states, despite the danger of
COVID. The Black Lives Matter movement is growing in numbers and strength. In response to some
of the first protests after Floyd’s death, Trump released the aforementioned tweets and continues to
be opposed to the protests.

Limits: The tweets alone do not provide the context or background of the situation and Trump’s
words show extreme bias against the protests and toward the use of violence.

Corroboration: NPR reports that the phrase Trump used “when the looting starts, the shooting starts”
is not a simple declaration of fact, as Trump defends, but a longstanding phrase connected to racism,
bigotry, and police brutality. Trump’s tweet “is a pretty clear and very loud message that the response
should not be let's try to address the justice issues that are involved here but let's be hard-line.”
Socio-Economic - ‘We don’t get justice’

Citation:
Cha, Ariana Eunjung. "'We Don't Get Justice':
When a Black Girl's Death from Covid-19 Feels
like a Collision of Two Crises." The Washington
Post, 6 June 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/
health/2020/06/05/coronavirus-baltimore-race
-police-violence/. Accessed 8 June 2020.
Close Reading: The coronavirus is disproportionately affecting communities of color.

Contextualization: Rather than an equalizer that everyone faces together, the

coronavirus is “laying bare long-standing health disparities that have traditionally
resulted in higher death rates for African Americans from a range of causes.” A large
number of black Americans’ jobs are considered essential or require them to be out of
the home, creating a greater risk of catching the virus. Black and Hispanic communities
are often extremely crowded and many citizens do not have access to testing or proper
health care; the people within these communities are at a much higher risk than
Americans of other races and ethnicities.

Limits: The source provides statistics for only a few states and does not use any
numerical reports to show how certain factors are changing the exposure and death risk.

Corroboration: Robert Samuels from The Washington Post reports that African
American communities are being ravaged by the coronavirus. Despite exercising the
same behaviors as whites, African Americans are being hit much harder than their white
counterparts.
Choice - Pride 2020 amidst COVID and protests

Citation:
Roy, Jessica. "Pride began
as a protest. In 2020 in
L.A., it will be again." Los
Angeles Times, 4 June
2020, www.latimes.com
/lifestyle/story/2020-06-
04/how-to-celebrate-
Pride-2020-coronavirus
-protests. Accessed 8
June 2020.
Close Reading: While Pride was originally cancelled due to corona, it is back on as a
solidarity march with the BLM movement.

Contextualization: Pride Month (June) 2020 began with focus on protests for the
Black Lives Matter movement. In recognition that Pride started as an anti-police
brutality riot, the LGBTQ+ community will stand with its allies and march in solidarity.
Pride 2020 will also make more of an effort to recognize, support, and promote
people of color within the LGBTQ+ community.

Limits: The source refers only to L.A. and does not include reactions from members
of either the black or LGBTQ+ community.

Corroboration: This source corroborates the information that Pride 2020 will be an
act of solidarity and states that “‘the LGBTQ+ movement – the Pride movement – have
always exhibited a certain level of intersectionality.’”