Covid Conversations

Interviews with people in Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts (the Merrimack River Valley) who experienced the sickness and pandemic living restrictions of Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021, plus diary excerpts from residents who reported on their daily fears, hopes, and challenges. Produced by the Lawrence History Center, Phillips Academy Andover, and University of Massachusetts, Lowell (UML). This is the first published documentary about the impact of the pandemic. Interviews were conducted by Sociology students at UML, students at Phillips Academy, and community activists in Lawrence. The two working-class, highly diverse cities in eastern Massachusetts had sustained high level rates of infection with the related disruption of employment, education, and normal community life. The interviews offer a useful case study of the effects of Covid in one region.