Unprecedented

Share this post
A Year We Must Never Forget
thedailyedge.substack.com

A Year We Must Never Forget

"It starts by naming the dead—every single day—not allowing people to look away or go numb," says @FacesOfCOVID's Alex Goldstein

Richard Hine
Dec 23, 2020
3
Share this post
A Year We Must Never Forget
thedailyedge.substack.com
Twitter avatar for @FacesOfCOVIDFacesOfCOVID @FacesOfCOVID
YOLANDA COAR, 40, of Augusta, Georgia, died of COVID-19 on August 9th. She was a registered nurse and was pursuing her master's degree. She leaves behind her husband and two sons.
Augusta University nurse and mother of two passes away due to COVID-19AUGUSTA, GA (WFXG) - A local nurse who helped Chief Meteorologist Jay while he was undergoing surgery has passed away duewfxg.com

August 16th 2020

1,386 Retweets4,535 Likes

The President who promised to “Make America Great Again” is leaving office following a year of unprecedented death and devastation that has left more than 300,000 dead from COVID-19, millions of Americans grieving lost family members, friends, neighbors and colleagues. This holiday season, hundreds of thousands more are worrying about those currently being cared for in the country’s overwhelmed hospitals.

Because of Trump’s failed response to the virus, America leads the world in Covid deaths—and is looking at the deadliest year in its history, with more than 3.2 million total deaths this year, at least 400,000 more than in 2019.

Since March, Alex Goldstein’s @FacesOfCOVID Twitter account has been putting a human face on those we’ve lost, with pictures and stories based on news reports and submissions by family members who want their loved ones remembered.

I interviewed Alex Goldstein about the project, what it represents to him personally, and what it says about our nation’s response to the pandemic.

What motivated you to start “Faces of Covid”? 

I started FacesOfCOVID in March of 2020 as the pandemic began its first surge as a means of uplifting the basic dignity of the people we were losing by telling the stories behind the statistics and putting a name and face to our losses. I also felt from the earliest days that many of these deaths were preventable if our government had made better decisions, and if we as members of community had been more committed to each other’s wellbeing, so I also see this effort as fundamentally about accountability.

Who was the first person featured on Faces of Covid?

I believe the first story I shared was of John Knox—he was a former fire marshall for the New York Fire Department, Marine Corps Veteran, and a 9/11 first responder. He lived a life of service only to be taken down by this horrible virus. I found his story on March 16th in one of my first searches. 

Twitter avatar for @FacesOfCOVIDFacesOfCOVID @FacesOfCOVID
JOHN KNOX, 84, of Rockaway New York, died on March 16th of COVID-19. He was a former FDNY Fire Marshal, firefighter, labor leader, U.S. marine, and first responder on 9/11 who worked at ground zero.
Legendary NYC fire marshal dies of complications from coronavirusJohn Knox, 84, died at Mt. Sinai South Nassau Medical Center in Oceanside.nydailynews.com

September 11th 2020

432 Retweets1,376 Likes

As the saying goes, “one death is a tragedy but a million deaths are a statistic.” At the end of March, Trump suddenly went from “it’s going to zero” to “200,000 deaths would be a good job.” He based that on a forecast that showed a potential US death toll of 2.2 million. How successful do you think he has been in numbing America in general—and his base in particular—to the staggering death toll we are now seeing?

He has been the primary driver of the national effort by his administration to rewrite the history of this pandemic in real time with lies and distortions. He was able to sow a remarkable amount of distrust of basic science and public health practices in such a short period that it’s hard to even begin to imagine the full assessment of the damage he has caused. 

Twitter avatar for @FacesOfCOVIDFacesOfCOVID @FacesOfCOVID
CHAD DORRILL, a 19-year-old student at Appalachian State University who was described as "super healthy" by his mother, has died of COVID-19. “As our family suffers this incredible loss, we want to remind people to wear a mask..."
19-year-old App State student described as ‘super healthy’ dies from COVID-19 complicationsA 19-year-old student at Appalachian State University who was described by his mother as “super healthy,” has died from complications related to COVID-19, according to the university.wbtv.com

September 30th 2020

2,007 Retweets3,999 Likes

You told Chris Hayes on MSNBC in September that one of the questions behind each story is, “did this person actually have to die?” How much do you blame Trump for a death toll that now exceeds 300,000? What do you hear from family members about who they blame?

I think the only thing that was inevitable was that the virus was coming —what we did to respond to it was entirely within our control. That response was led by President Trump and he has failed catastrophically. As a country, we haven't even begun to come to terms with the loss of 320,000+ of our family and friends and neighbors. He gave up, and I put the collapse of the American response to COVID at his feet, and the feet of his many enablers in Congress and throughout his administration.

Twitter avatar for @FacesOfCOVIDFacesOfCOVID @FacesOfCOVID
MARY CASTRO, 75, of Irving, Texas died of COVID-19 on May 17. In support of her daughter, let's lift up the words of her obituary.
legacy.com/obituaries/dfw… Cc'ing the Lt. Governor of Texas, @DanPatrick, on this one.
Image
Image

September 16th 2020

757 Retweets1,655 Likes

You rely on local newspapers and journalists for most of the stories you feature. Local papers have been hard hit by the pandemic, too. Are you talking to local journalists? Are they even capable of telling all the stories that they would like to see told?

My experience is that local journalists have had to deal with the competing forces of having the primary burden of telling the stories of people in their community who are dying, and also facing relentless pressure economically to keep their jobs. Many times I would post stories shared by a journalist and within a couple of days that reporter would be furloughed or even have lost their job. The collapse of local news could not have come at a worse time, as I believe these reporters continue to feel a genuine and admirable commitment to tell these stories. 

In the midst of the pandemic, Biden and Pence came face to face at Ground Zero at the 19th anniversary event commemorating 9/11. The Covid death toll now equates to more than one hundred 9/11s. What do you think the nation should do to properly grieve and commemorate those lost to Covid-19?

I think it starts by naming the dead—every single day—not allowing people to look away or go numb but rather face our losses. I’m hopeful that national commemorations like that can provide a platform to expedite that storytelling, but we have a very long way to go. It is why I am so committed to sharing these stories even after things hopefully go from a boil to a simmer in the spring and summer. 

Twitter avatar for @FacesOfCOVIDFacesOfCOVID @FacesOfCOVID
LAURA ESCALANTI, 69 of San Ildefenso Pueblo, New Mexico died of COVID on Nov. 21. A beloved educator, she spent 20 years teaching Spanish and Tewa, and connecting students to their Native American culture. “We lost a treasure."
santafenewmexican.com/news/coronavir…
Image

November 29th 2020

367 Retweets2,271 Likes
Twitter avatar for @FacesOfCOVIDFacesOfCOVID @FacesOfCOVID
ROSE MARY BLACKWELL and PAUL BLACKWELL, wife and husband of Grand Prairie, Texas, died of COVID in December. They both worked for the local school school district, Rose. as a middle school teacher, and Paul as a coach.
Married Grand Prairie ISD Coach, Teacher Die of COVID-19Rose Mary and Paul Blackwell, both staff members at Grand Prairie ISD, have died after battling COVID-19.nbcdfw.com

December 16th 2020

847 Retweets4,103 Likes
Twitter avatar for @FacesOfCOVIDFacesOfCOVID @FacesOfCOVID
JEFFREY & LINDA CONN, 75 & 76, of Toledo, Ohio died of COVID on Nov. 24. & Nov. 27. "My father and mother died days apart from COVID-19." Submitted to @FacesOfCOVID by their son.
Image

December 5th 2020

529 Retweets3,860 Likes
Twitter avatar for @FacesOfCOVIDFacesOfCOVID @FacesOfCOVID
MICHAEL LANG, 18, a student at the University of Dayton in Ohio, has died of complications from COVID-19.
whio.com/news/local/ud-…
Image

October 24th 2020

2,163 Retweets6,287 Likes
Twitter avatar for @FacesOfCOVIDFacesOfCOVID @FacesOfCOVID
VALERIE LOUIE of Oakland, California died of COVID on Nov. 25. She was a devoted nurse with a passion for rescuing dogs. Her family said she saved thousands of dogs over the years.
COVID Surge: Oakland Nurse, Coronavirus Victim, Remembered For Her Work Helping People And DogsA beloved Oakland nurse who worked at Highland Hospital for more than 30 years and had a passion for saving more than one kind of life is being mourned after she died of COVID.sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

December 20th 2020

522 Retweets3,283 Likes

To continue remembering the human face of the COVID-19 pandemic, please follow @FacesOfCOVID on Twitter.


If you’d like to receive this ad-free newsletter by email, please consider subscribing at a special rate.

Get 30% off for 1 year

Share this post
A Year We Must Never Forget
thedailyedge.substack.com
Comments

Create your profile

0 subscriptions will be displayed on your profile (edit)

Skip for now

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.

TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2022 TLD Media, LLC
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Publish on Substack Get the app
Substack is the home for great writing