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In 2021, a coalition of national museum and library associations awarded the Peale (Baltimore, Maryland) a Communities for Immunity grant. The goal of the project is for trusted, local institutions to engage their communities in order to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Since being awarded the grant, we've been gathering stories from people about their experiences with COVID and getting the vaccine.
Whitney Frazier (00:00): What do you say to people to convince them to get vaccinated? What are your one-liners?
Joy Ross (00:16): I just walk up to them and I'm like, "Did you get the COVID shot?"
Whitney Frazier (00:17): Okay.
Joy Ross (00:17): They like, "oh no."
Whitney Frazier (00:17): You just like, you don't even say hi or like, did you get the COVID shot?
Joy Ross (00:20): They like "no," and I like, you serious and we just start a conversation from there. Cause "hi" is like a weakness for, I know Baltimoreans, like saying hi is a way of saying, oh, she ain't from the city. So I have learned to negate that hi sometimes, I'm always saying hi to people, but if you just come out, what you got to say in Baltimore, it seemed like it's more effective than... Cause they get shocked by when you say hi.
Whitney Frazier (00:54): They don't want to, people don't like small talk. They just want to get right at it.
Joy Ross (00:57): Right.
Whitney Frazier (00:58): Like what you want. Okay. So you just straight up ask them, and then if they say, no, I haven't. You're like...
Joy Ross (01:07): What are you waiting for?
Whitney Frazier (01:09): Yeah. What are you waiting for?
Joy Ross (01:12): If you need help? Can I, you know what I mean? Like I tell them I'm a nurse. I can help you get it, if that's what you wanted. Like, "no, no, I don't want it," and then I'm like, "why, you allergic to it?" Like tell me, like you don't want, and then if they go into that story about, they killing us, then I use that as an educational forum because I'm always educating health wise on the streets.
Whitney Frazier (01:38): Right.
Joy Ross (01:38): So it's just easier for me to jump in there behind it's like the little drug boys around here. You know none of them have been vaccinated, and I wanted to know I'm like, you know what? You are at a high risk occupation here.
Whitney Frazier (01:55): You're interacting with a lot of people.
Joy Ross (01:56): Why [inaudible 00:01:57] vaccinating? You know, they're like, "no, Miss Joy I don't contact with people" and this and that. So I had to hit home when I said about your kids and your family. When you go there, it's like a wakeup call. So they've been vaccinated now they made a point to tell me they've been vaccinated.
Whitney Frazier (02:18): Wow.
Joy Ross (02:19): You know? Yeah. I told one, I call him the lead ring and he claim he isn't. But I think he is. I says, "the guys out front haven't been vaccinated." He says, "what's wrong with them?" I said, "I don't know." I said, "you've been in vaccinated." He said, "oh yeah." I said, "you need to go talk to them." So it's so casual, it's funny because they feel like they're always on guard anyway, because I used to call the police on them so much.
Whitney Frazier (02:53): Yeah.
Joy Ross (02:53): So now I realize I put them in harms way in so many ways.
Whitney Frazier (02:57): Oh, but you now have like a relationship where you can talk to them.
Joy Ross (03:02): Mm-hmm (affirmative)
Whitney Frazier (03:02): Yeah. That's powerful.
Joy Ross (03:06): Yeah. They're not so open with doing their drugs. They're discreet about it. If I see some strange people out here or lingering, so I let them know. They'll make sure that there's no one out here because I'm like, it's not safe.
Whitney Frazier (03:28): Yeah.
Asset ID: 2022.05.16
Find a complete transcription on the Peale's website.
- Genre
- Storytelling