Star Index
Black Covid Care features hundreds of stories that are loosely organized by tag.
The code required for a site like this requires rigid, stable categories of information. Yet, these stories of community are nebulous and flexible. There is no one to one ratio for building sonic constellations of Black care. To help us navigate the terrain of categorization, artist Leigh Ashley created six paintings for Black Covid Care, one for each tag. These paintings all have their own distinct subject, but they also all feature space. The paintings are a bridge, allowing us to move from tag to tag, category to category, acknowledging the overlap and haziness of how these stories fit together.
Black religious practices have long been tied to liberation movements, and these stories of worship, grief, and prayer trace long histories of Black religion.
These stories include a range of artistic pursuits, from Black art exhibitions launched during the pandemic touching moments like Denzel Washington paying for Chadwick Boseman’s summer acting program when he was a student at Howard University.
Foodways practices are crucial to Black life. These stories include recipe sharing, feeding of houseless neighbors, and more.
Education comes in many forms. From community altar building toolkits to political education events, these stories feature Black people teaching skills, lessons, recipes, and ways of being.
Black Covid Care is about Black health, and these stories focus on initiatives to vaccinate, test, and treat Black people in ways that center dignity and humanity.
Many headlines in 2020 spoke of two pandemics: covid-19 and white supremacy. These stories highlight various forms of protest, from candlelight vigils for those killed by police to students fighting for more inclusion in their classrooms.