See Their Stories captures our community’s challenges and opportunities from the past year
San Diego CA— The San Diego History Center marks the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic by releasing their See Their Stories collection of COVID-19 community-sourced history.
The statistics from the last year are staggering. As of this writing, the COVID-related death toll in the United States stands at more than a half million people. In San Diego County, more than 3,000 people have died. What the statistics fail to show is the love and impact that each one of these parents, spouses, siblings, and friends provided to their immediate families and greater community as a whole. The loss is incalculable.
The San Diego History Center shifted its focus to documenting these historic times through digital initiatives based on the reality of History Happening Now. Hundreds of San Diegans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic submitted their reflections through the Share Your Story website. The San Diego History Center’s work to document, preserve, and present these historic times is more vital than ever as the impact of the virus on our community continues to evolve. Community stories and contributions will become part of the San Diego History Center’s permanent collection.
Bill Lawrence, President and CEO of the San Diego History Center, shares, “We don’t yet have the luxury that the passage of time provides to fully comprehend what we are living through. A decade from now, or a hundred years from now, historians will look back and we, and this time, will be the subject of history. Our Share Your Story initiative was a remarkable opportunity both for the History Center and for the region’s residents to preserve history in real-time instead of after the fact.”
Now, a selection of those stories is available to the community through a new virtual collection called See Their Stories. This digital “mural” of COVID stories reflects insights, milestones, journeys and art of San Diegans of all ages and from all parts of San Diego County.