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Community, healthcare and accountability amid COVID-19


Welcome back to The American South!

If you're new here, thank you for subscribing and becoming a part of our community where we focus on producing revelatory journalism about the South. 

This week, I wanted to highlight a series The American South produced in partnership with The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., on the impact of COVID-19 on chicken plant workers. This series will take you through compelling personal narratives of those at the center of the crisis. My hope is that, in reading these stories, it deepens your understanding of accountability, community and healthcare.

Speaking of community and healthcare, we check back in with restaurant owners to see how they're holding up as we near the end of 2020 with so much still uncertain. We also travel to rural corners of the South to examine how hospitals on the brink of closure are managing the pandemic.

In the spirit of the holidays, we also have a roundup of unique Southern traditions, including a Santa who goes down a mountain in North Carolina. (Not kidding!)

And in keeping with a promise to always end on a smile, please check out this adorable video of newborns dressed up as Christmas presents. You won't regret it!

The impact of COVID-19 on essential workers 

Mississippi’s poultry plant workers have not stopped processing millions of pounds of chicken during the COVID-19 pandemic. As they worked, more than 1,200 employees contracted COVID-19 and eight workers died from the disease.

A combination of misinformation, distrust and resource scarcity left chicken plant workers in Mississippi without food, healthcare and protection amid the COVID-19 crisis. Meet the women working to provide vital lifelines for the immigrant community. They are known as the “Promotoras de Salud.”

Clara Ann Kincaid was a 50-year-old essential employee when she died from COVID-19. She was likely exposed to the virus in a chicken plant in Mississippi that remained open during the pandemic but was slow to react. It's a story on long-ingrained inequalities and the challenges of healthcare access in the rural South.

We promise, this will warm your heart

Newborn babies as Christmas presents. Oh the joy!

Thank you for reading! 

Have a thought? I would love to hear from you at: theamericansouth@gannett.com

Ashley Hopkinson

Editor, The American South