New Weekly Series: Unheard Voices of the Pandemic

How has the pandemic exposed disparities that are foundational to our society? How are people experiencing the impacts of COVID-19 on their day-to-day lives and well-being?

Voice of Witness launched a new oral history project called Unheard Voices of the Pandemic, which shares first-person narratives to center and document how marginalized communities are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic—including having higher rates of unemployment and ineligibility for federal relief, holding low-paying essential worker jobs, and being at greater risk of contracting COVID-19.

Below, read the first three stories in the series from Roberto, Shearod, and Raul. Stay tuned each week for more first-person narratives in the Unheard Voices of the Pandemic project.

Learn More

Life as an undocumented farmworker: "The sun is hot and you can’t breathe in a mask"

"In the media, they’re now calling us 'essential workers.' But that’s what we’ve always been. We think of doctors, firefighters and police as important. People who never saw us before now see that we also have value." —Roberto Valdez

Read Roberto's Story

Pandemic and prison: Shearod McFarland, incarcerated in Michigan, on what COVID-19 has changed

"This facility is nearly a hundred years old. It's a petri dish-like atmosphere, viruses spread incredibly fast. Two of the housing units here are built like a massive vertical zoo, just cage on top of cage... Prisoners sleep, eat, shower, and use the bathroom in these human warehouses. So social distancing is virtually impossible." —Shearod McFarland

Read Shearod's Story

COVID-19 in ICE detention: An asylum-seeker on getting coronavirus in a for-profit immigration jail

"We were excited because we expected to be released soon. But at Richwood, the detainees told us that they don't give anyone parole or bond in Louisiana. They had a name for Richwood: the graveyard of living men. I asked to be released on parole anyway, but ICE denied me. They denied me many times." —Raul Gonzalez

Read Raul's Story

Solito, Solita Available on Audible

VOW's book Solito, Solita: Crossing Borders with Youth Refugees from Central America is now available in audio format on Audible.

Solito, Solita is an urgent collection of oral histories that tells—in their own words—the stories of young refugees fleeing countries in Central America and traveling for hundreds of miles to the United States.

Listen to the book for free with a 30-day Audible trial.

Sign Up for VOW's Webinar!

This free webinar on August 11th will offer participants a broad introduction to Voice of Witness, our methodology, and the use of oral history storytelling to amplify the voices of people impacted by injustice.

We will explore the power of personal narrative as a storytelling format and discuss key elements of the oral history process, including best practices in ethical interviewing and story project creation.

The webinar will feature Sara Sinclair, editor of VOW’s forthcoming project, How We Go Home: Voices from Indigenous North America.

Voice of Witness Occasional Magazine

Did you miss VOW's spring occasional magazine? Check out the digital version to learn about:

VOW editor Sara Sinclair's work to amplify Indigenous voices
Challenging the narrative of the passive victim in Puerto Rico through oral history
Solito, Solita narrators forging space in mainstream media for refugee stories
And more!

Access the Magazine

About Voice of Witness

Voice of Witness (VOW) is an award-winning nonprofit that advances human rights by amplifying the voices of people impacted by injustice. Cofounded by Dave Eggers, Mimi Lok, and Dr. Lola Vollen, we explore issues of criminal justice, migration, and displacement, and forge space for marginalized voices to be heard. Our book series depicts these issues through the edited oral histories of people most closely affected by them. Our education program connects educators, students, and members of justice movements with oral history tools for storytelling and social change.

You can support us by purchasing books in the Voice of Witness series
or by making a direct tax-deductible donation.

Copyright © 2020 Voice of Witness, All rights reserved.

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