The Hinds COVID-19 Memory Archival Project
Late in December of 2019 officials in the city of Wuhan, China reported fighting a highly contagious and potentially deadly strain of coronavirus which was later called COVID-19. On January 20, 2020 the first reported case appeared in the United States. On March 11th, Mississippi reported its first case and the first in-state death from the virus was reported on March 19 from Hancock County. On March 19th Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced an Executive Order temporarily closing certain businesses and schools in the state to slow the spread of the virus and to keep hospitals and health care personnel from being overwhelmed. Since that time, the Executive Orders have been reviewed and modified periodically in an effort to slowly open businesses, allow workers to return to their jobs and to prevent the state’s economy from sinking further.
Hinds Community College first responded to the pandemic crisis on Friday, March 13. The college was on spring break the week of March 9-13 but on the 13th the college announced that it would extend its break another week and faculty and staff were asked to be ready to move to an online instructional program “should the situation deem it necessary.” On March 20th, in consideration of the governor’s Executive Order, President Muse made the announcement: “Effective March 23, all courses will be shifted to an online learning environment for an indefinite time period. Students should begin working on their assignments in Canvas.” Employees were encouraged to work from home if possible or to work staggered work schedules to reduce the number of people on campus at a given time.
The emergency situation is still evolving and this narrative will be updated to reflect the on-going status. This project was founded in an effort to digitally document Hinds members’ experiences and reflections.
Mission
What is the Hinds COVID-19 Memory Archival Project?
This project aims to document how the Hinds Community College, its administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni and the Hinds communities experienced the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The project is administered and hosted by the Hinds Community College Libraries Archives and Hinds Community College Public Relations office.
Submissions are accepted from Hinds administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members associated with the College.
Submissions can be most anything that reflects how Hinds members experienced the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The project aims to serve simply as a repository of experiences, reflections and memories of this extraordinary time. Images, stories, videos, recordings, documents or email announcements that capture something about this moment is likely an appropriate contribution.
Potential submissions include:
All items contributed to the Hinds COVID-19 Memory Archival Project are intended for public display. Do not contribute items that are meant to be private. Items submitted to this project are considered a donation. When a member of Hinds donates a personal item to this repository, it becomes a part of the Hinds community’s collective memory. When submitting an item, you will be asked to sign a deed of gift, which formally signifies that the materials become the actual property of the archives.
How Can You Contribute?
Contributing to this project is easy. Simply click on the "Begin" button at the bottom of the page which will take you to the contribution page. You can submit a story, an image, an audio recording, a video, document or the copy of an email. The site will then present you with a variety of text boxes to fill in – such as item title, a description, type of item. We will also ask for a name and an email address to be associated with an item. After that, your contribution will be submitted to our archival librarian for verification and who will publish it to the site so long as it is appropriate. If you have questions or need more information, please email James Kennedy (Archives Librarian) or Mary Beth Applin (Dean of Libraries)