Project

The COVID-19 Writers Project (C19WP)

The COVID-19 Writers Project (C19WP) captures a hyperlocal viewpoint of the coronavirus Pandemic from inside the virus’s hotspot—New York City—while examining the extent to which health outcomes are impacted by socio-economics, education, and race.

Inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Federal Writers Project (FWP) of the 1930s that produced audio and written recordings of formerly enslaved Americans, similarly, C19WP presents first-person multimedia narratives that reflect our current condition.

Through video, essays, and photography, the multimedia project builds a historical record—a cross-section of experiences, from the emergency medical physician whose wife delivered their first baby during the pandemic, to a formerly incarcerated man trying to survive in the pandemic while homeless and washing windows, to the landlord whose tenants have mounted a rent strike—ultimately answering: What is the crisis telling us about who we are as a society today?

October 13, 2020 | Scriibe

Video Narrative: RECOVERY I

C. Zawadi Morris

As Brooklyn started reopening, residents began to reflect on lessons learned, society, and health. So much had changed in such a short time. Who had they become?

October 13, 2020 | Scriibe

Video Narrative: DEVASTATION I

C. Zawadi Morris and Nigel Roberts

In March, when New York City was the epicenter of the pandemic, Brooklyn had become a ghost town. In the streets, you could hear a pin drop, except for the unending sound of ambulance sirens.

October 13, 2020 | Scriibe

Video Narrative: AWAKENING

C. Zawadi Morris and Nigel Roberts

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets this summer to protest racial injustice and police brutality. Was this merely a momentary period of awakened frustration? Or was it a sign that real change was on the way?