NAMING THE LOST

NYC LONG COVID MEMORIAL

Video description: Stone steps outside a large stone building. On the left is ASL interpreter Brandon Kazen-Maddox, and on the right the Long COVID Justice NYC crew takes turns at the mic. There is a large display of flowers on the step below them.

A powerful video naming what we’ve lost to Long COVID and reaffirming our commitment to collective care and justice. “We’re here today to pledge to one another, and to pledge to our ancestors, that this is the beginning that will never end for us. We will stay together, and we will fight together, and we will rest together, because that is the way that we end pandemics.”


This video is excerpted from a longer presentation we gave at a community memorial ceremony on May 11 in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, which is an annual event organized by Naming the Lost Memorials. Our team’s memorial was focused on Long COVID and featured contributions from many New Yorkers living with Long COVID. In addition to our project, Naming the Lost featured COVID-19 memorials by 19 other community groups from across New York City. Our featured speakers include Long COVID Justice NYC organizers and community members Una Osato, Anna Roberts-Gevalt, Jenna Bitar, and Long COVID Justice co-founder JD Davids, who worked alongside other LCJ-NYC members to create our memorial. ASL interpretation by Brandon Kazen-Maddox– follow their work on Instagram. Shout out to Jenna for editing this video excerpt!

Watch video of the full ceremony here.

Transcription of featured speakers: “This is for everyone who will develop Long COVID. This is for our siblings who can’t afford to rest; who’ve been forced to go back to work, often under unsafe and inaccessible conditions. This is for the people who are experiencing brain fog a year or two later, but don’t have a name for it. This is for the people whose breathing never went back to “normal”, for the people whose hearts race mysteriously throughout the day. This is for the people who just can’t seem to stop feeling tired. This is for the people who have died of Long COVID. This is for all imprisoned people who are still sick. This is for people experiencing housing insecurity or are unhoused, too often overlooked, they lie down on the streets and are still sick. Disability justice continues to teach us, and we vow to leave no one behind. We move forward at the pace of our slowest, our most vulnerable. We will keep each other safe. So we’re here today to pledge to one another, and to pledge to our ancestors, that this is the beginning that will never end for us. We will stay together, and we will fight together, and we will rest together, because that is the way that we end pandemics. Thank you.”

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