Interview with Michael Powell
InterviewerInterviewed by
Peter Moran
Date2022 July 7
Mediumborn digital audio file
DimensionsDuration: 51 Minutes, 20 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineCommunity History Project Collection
Object number2022.20.21a-b
Description(a) Interview with Michael Powell. Interviewed by Peter Moran on July 7, 2022 at New Haven Free Public Library Ives Branch, 133 Elm Street, New Haven. (b) Photograph of Michael Powell taken at his interview. He was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Historical Society's Community History Project discussing his experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Powell talked about being in jail just as Covid hit and what it meant to be stranded there as the court system was put on hold and he was in a legal limbo. He talked about getting out and his girlfriend’s pregnancy and the concerns that they had because of Covid. He admits to being afraid, which gave way to a more resigned acceptance. He thinks that Covid is here to stay and that people will adapt by not wearing masks. He worries about balancing choice in a pandemic and what that means. He was vaccinated and boosted, but being claustrophobic, he had a hard time wearing masks. And while he doesn’t think that it changed his own habits much, he does notice that his older kids and others have hanged their habits. In discussing the Presidential elections, the events of January 6, 2021, Powell is sad and angry over the division in the country, much of which he lays at the feet of former President Donald Trump. He doesn’t think that it will get better any time soon and says that the pandemic taught him not to trust anyone. “I just never saw life being lived this way,” he reflected.
NotesSubject Note: The Connecticut Historical Society’s Community History Project (CHP) is a public-facing initiative, focused on contemporary collecting, gathering items of the recent past as well as from events happening today. This program developed community historians to identify, document, and preserve their experiences as residents of Connecticut, and to share these experiences during a series of community presentations. The project focused on the impact of Covid-19 on Connecticans, particularly on Black and Brown communities, funeral homes, and on nursing home and elder care populations.Powell talked about being in jail just as Covid hit and what it meant to be stranded there as the court system was put on hold and he was in a legal limbo. He talked about getting out and his girlfriend’s pregnancy and the concerns that they had because of Covid. He admits to being afraid, which gave way to a more resigned acceptance. He thinks that Covid is here to stay and that people will adapt by not wearing masks. He worries about balancing choice in a pandemic and what that means. He was vaccinated and boosted, but being claustrophobic, he had a hard time wearing masks. And while he doesn’t think that it changed his own habits much, he does notice that his older kids and others have hanged their habits. In discussing the Presidential elections, the events of January 6, 2021, Powell is sad and angry over the division in the country, much of which he lays at the feet of former President Donald Trump. He doesn’t think that it will get better any time soon and says that the pandemic taught him not to trust anyone. “I just never saw life being lived this way,” he reflected.
Cataloging Note: This cataloging project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-249472-OMS-21.
Status
Not on view
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