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The COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement during 2020 forever shaped communities around our nation. Capturing first-hand experiences of how these events impacted people is a critical part of providing primary sources for future researchers, and that����vlog����Ƶ�s what Assistant Provost and Clinical Associate Professor of History Maria Iacullo-Bird, PhD, set out to achieve with her Oral History Project.

����vlog����Ƶ�Interviews provide a way to center personal human experiences during major historical events,����vlog����Ƶ� Iacullo-Bird says, ����vlog����Ƶ�which become even more important as times of crisis and momentous change recede into history. I am excited that Pace undergraduates have generated primary sources to provide first-hand knowledge about watershed historical events.����vlog����Ƶ�

The project was developed as part of Iacullo-Bird����vlog����Ƶ�s Honors history course, HIS 196H: COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter: Comparative, Crisis-Based Oral History in the American Experience. The course is designed as a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE), which gives students training as oral historians to conduct research. Iacullo-Bird explains that this course in particular ����vlog����Ƶ�explores the intersectionality between disease and social justice struggles.����vlog����Ƶ�

After students gain an understanding of the importance of oral history and develop close listening skills, students are tasked with selecting interview subjects and preparing questions that capture their interviewees����vlog����Ƶ� unique experiences. Recent interviews are as a resource for other students and researchers.

����vlog����Ƶ�The interviews I conducted were great experiences,����vlog����Ƶ� says film and screen studies major Carter Haskins ����vlog����Ƶ�24. He explored the intersectionality between race and the long-term health impacts caused by COVID. ����vlog����Ƶ�I found that the conversation came naturally. I ended up going to interviews with a prepared list of questions but not using them, and the outcome was fantastic.����vlog����Ƶ�

I feel like I will be able to engage in more meaningful research now that I understand the importance of considering how a historical event affects those experiencing it.

Jillian Igneri ����vlog����Ƶ�26, added, ����vlog����Ƶ�During the early stages of my interview preparation, I was excited by the prospect of exploring aspects of recent crises, namely the COVID pandemic and the matters of racial injustice throughout 2020, that I had not experienced through my own eyes as they occurred.����vlog����Ƶ� This led Jillian to explore how educators dealt with the disruptions to learning caused by the pandemic as well as how educators����vlog����Ƶ� roles in helping students grapple with social change evolved.

����vlog����Ƶ�Oral history has allowed me, as a history major, to engage with my community outside of the traditional academic space,����vlog����Ƶ� shared Natalie Filkins ����vlog����Ƶ�25, who focused her research on the impact COVID had on the unhoused population of New York City. ����vlog����Ƶ�I feel like I will be able to engage in more meaningful research now that I understand the importance of considering how a historical event affects those experiencing it.����vlog����Ƶ� She adds, ����vlog����Ƶ�As a historian, I found this project to be incredibly engaging, requiring me to exercise skills I haven����vlog����Ƶ�t used in other history courses.����vlog����Ƶ�

Na����vlog����Ƶ�Mya Sinclair ����vlog����Ƶ�26, a nursing student, who researched the Black Lives Matter movement and the function of higher education learning experiences for people of color, plans to continue studying nursing. However, she shares that ����vlog����Ƶ�this project has significantly informed how I aspire to participate in the ����vlog����Ƶ, New York City, and global communities. I am inspired to actively participate in discussions and initiatives that address racial inequalities, particularly within the university setting.����vlog����Ƶ�

Iacullo-Bird hopes that students will ����vlog����Ƶ�deepen their understanding of how to be engaged citizens and problem-solvers in community-building projects.����vlog����Ƶ� The skills they develop through the research-based course also enable students to clarify career goals and apply what they have learned both in their studies and the workplace.