Photograph of Samantha Ekberg on April 7th, 2021 right after receiving the first of two initial doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. The Denton County Health Services used the Texas Motor Speedway to quickly vaccinate a large amount of people in their cars utilizing multiple checkpoints. Samantha is also wearing a University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design shirt and a mask.

Photograph of a page from a journal made during the COVID-19 pandemic by Leonetta Brown.

Photograph of the cover of a journal designed by Leonetta Brown.

Photograph of a page from a journal made during the COVID-19 pandemic by Leonetta Brown.

Photograph of a page from a journal made during the COVID-19 pandemic by Leonetta Brown.

Photograph of Miriam (Mimi) Beard, her husband, and her brother at Bishop Cidercade in Dallas, Texas in July 2021 where they went out for the first time to have fun.

This article looks at different eras where African American voices and bodies were uplifted through the arts, publishing, and archives using technology as its platform for communication during calamity in the United States and why it is important that this tradition continues during COVID-19 and in the new decade. The intent of this article is to make those who are unaware aware of the use of digital technologies in the 20th century from an African American perspective through publishing and archiving, as well as community art spaces.

Photograph of a reenactor in costume and standing in front of the left side of the historical Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. The reenactor is wearing dark blue pants, a light blue button up jacket with gold buttons, brown leather belt with a buckle, canvas cross belt, black top hat, black cloth face mask, and black leather boots. The reenactor is also holding a rifle and has a short knife in a holder on the belt. Metal fencing is to the right of the reenactor in the image. The main wooden door and two columns from the front façade of the Alamo is shown in the image.

Photograph of the Washington on the Brazos historic site and outdoor exhibit in Washington County, Texas. Three figures dressed as reenactors stand on the right side of the rope divider in the image. One man is wearing a tan hat, blue shirt, and brown pants and the other is dressed in a mid-nineteenth century wartime outfit with a black hat, button up blue jacket and an over the shoulder canvas bag. On the same side as the reenactors are props reminiscent of the Mexican American war and historical events that took place on the Brazos River, and include two white awnings, a wooden wagon, and benches. About half a dozen visitors of the outdoor exhibit stand on the left side of the rope and two strollers are visible. Trees surround the exhibit and the day appears to be overcast with grey clouds overhead.

Photograph of student Kendall Martin talking to author Tomi Adeyemi at a book signing hosted by the Mary Jo and V. Lane Rawlins Fine Art Series at the UNT Union Lyceum. Tomi is sitting at a table with a green tablecloth, two books, a pen and sticky notes. Tomi is in the process of signing the inside flap of the book and looking up at Kendall who is standing in front of the table. Tomi is wearing a black and white tweed blazer. Kendall is wearing a blue cloth face mask, a sweater, jacket, and jeans. A line of other guests waiting to meet Tomi and have their books signed are shown in the background of the image.

Photograph of an outdoor exhibit titled "Living History Encampment" at the historic Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. A man in a blue shirt and black top hat is shown in the distance to the right of the image behind a walking pedestrian in a white t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers who are both standing on the other side of the thin rope containing the exhibit. The exhibit contains a white awning or tent over historical props made to look like an old war-time era campsite. A clear and black cube box is situated on and around wooden logs and has a small red and yellow letter sign that reads "Donations." Another larger red and yellow letter sign hanging reads "Living History Encampment in old Baskerville-esque typeface lettering.

Photograph of a grey and white colored cat named "Crazy Tracy" who is wearing a pink and white collar and laying down on a green rectangular cushion pet bed. The cat appears to be sleeping and has its head resting on the outer border of the bed and and its stomach facing upwards.

Photograph of a sticker still with its original paper backing that reads "Denton County Public Health" on the top in serif letters over a white background and "vaccinated me at TMS" in serif letters over a light blue background. On the right side of the Denton County Public Health logo is a blue image of the Denton County's original courthouse's clocktower.

Photograph of face mask that is designed to look like an axolotl. The face mask is light pink with white string. The sides of the face mask have three red "gills" that resemble gills found on an axolotl. The face mask also has two pink circles on either sides of the face mask to resemble the eyes of the axolotl and a large pink and red circle in the center to resemble the axolotl's mouth.

Photograph of seven face masks lying on a rug or bath mat on top of a mechancial dryer. The face masks vary in design and color and include a Mickey Mouse face mask that is black with white design details and images of Mickey Mouse, a grey "UH" logo face mask that is grey with white letters and red outline, a Batman comic strip face mask that is blue and contains images of Batman, a University of Houston red and white face mask, a Jurassic Park logo face mask that is black with red and yellow, and a plain black and white face mask. A green plastic basket and yellow plastic basket are shown in the background.

Photograph of a pathway with benches in between the Union lawn and the Library Mall. Medium size trees and the benches next to them are lined next to the pathway and spaced out by a few yards. A red ruffled short sleeve lace dress is hanging on each of the trees. A small white sign near the first bench reads "Remember the fallen" in Sharpie. The G. Brint Ryan Business Leadership Building is visible at the end of the path on the other side of Highland Street. Larger oak trees are also visible up on the top of the hill closer to the Library Mall.

Photograph of a table with a green and black tablecloth and a display of round tiers holding dozens of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with white or brown frosting and green sprinkles. The center tier, which is approximately four feet tall, has seven plates with each ascending plate being smaller. The table and cupcakes are under a large temporary metal and tarp event tent. A Dining Services employee is shown in the foreground and left side of the image wearing a face mask and a short sleeve black and green shirt with a black apron. The employee is sorting out a pile of white square napkins with purple disposable gloves on. A man stands in the middle ground of the image on the right side and also has a purple disposable glove on. The man is wearing a short sleeve striped button up shirt, brown pants, black sunglasses and a face mask. The man appears to be picking up a cupcake with a tong in one hand and a napkin in his other hand. Other guests of Scrappy's birthday celebration and green trees are visible in the background.

Photograph of a sign hanging in a window by an entryway of the Edith O'Donnell Arts and Technology (ATEC) building at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). The sign is blue with divided colored sections in order from top to bottom: red, orange, yellow, green. The red section reads "high risk of transmission," the orange section reads "extreme caution," the yellow section reads "proceed carefully," and the green section reads "new normal until you're vaccinated." The top of the sign contains white text in capital letters that reads "Today's COVID-19 risk level" and the bottom of the sign contains white text in lowercase letters that reads "dallascounty.org/covid-19/" as well as a small black and white logo.

Photograph of a stand up sign with a large poster attached that is turquoise colored and features dark green text in capital letters, an orange header with white text in capital letters, and a dark green footer with white and orange text in capital letters and the University of Texas at Dallas logo. The large poster shows a faceless cartoon person with dark hair and a white face mask. The large poster reads, "For your health, we encourage everyone to wear a mask indoors." Behind the large poster, the image reveals a white building interior with a staircase and large windows in the distance. To the right of the sign in the image, there is a smaller A4 size paper sign posted to the wall with the image of a cartoon hand and a hand sanitizer disposal underneath the sign. The small paper sign reads "Please use hand sanitizer before entry."

Photograph of Kristen King holding up a book in front of an open Mac laptop. Kristen is wearing a dark colored shirt and glasses. The book Kristen is holding up has a page open to an image of a female child eating an apple from a basket of apples, as well as images of apples and possibly name tags also depicted floating around the page. The children's book illustration appears to be in the style of watercolors.

Photograph of a person crouching down and selecting a book from a short bookshelf in the children's section of a public library. The person is wearing a black face mask, green shirt, burgundy patterned leggings, and Vans sneakers, and is holding a canvas bag that has a blue monochromatic image of a house with the text "The Book Loft, Solvang, California." The person is in the far back left corner of the image. The childrens section includes short three foot bookshelves against the wall that are partially full with books. A childrens cushioned light blue and beige foam chair, small round wooden table with an alphabet and number design, and blue rug are in the center of the childrens area shown in the image. The rug has images of cartoon fish and bubbles with capital letters in each that form a border around the rug. The upper portion of the wall shows large paper cut-out images of grass, clouds, and hot air balloons over a light blue paper background. One of the clouds has large sans serif pink text that reads "Welcome Back!"

Photograph of Kristen King and child sitting at a table in front of laptops where the viewer can only see the back of them from the image. Kristen is sitting on the right side of her son and they are both using their own laptop. Both Kristen and her son are wearing grey t-shirts. The table they are sitting at has a pink floral tablecloth and wooden chairs with a lattice design. A large window with sheer beige curtains is in the background.

Photograph of a panoramic photo taken inside a home. The image shows seven people sitting on a large L-shaped grey couch inside what looks like a large living room inside a house. A woman and a couple are seated on one side of the couch, and four people are seated on the adjacent side. In front of the seven seated individuals are two coffee tables with one containing two laptops. Some of the individuals are wearing cloth face masks and/or looking down at their handheld mobile devices/smartphones. The living room has tiled floors and a wooden ceiling held up by engaged wooden columns and pilasters. Most of the furniture, which includes a flat screen television, wooden rocking chairs, a chest, a desk, a small cabinet, and a small and large bookshelf are shown in front of the couch to the far right side of the image because the room is large. Three large and one medium sized wooden bookshelves, which are filled with books, are against the wall behind the couch and situated in between a small window and a double door sized entryway. Picture frames, lamps, and other household objects are scattered around the room and on top of …

Photograph of Bryan Salazar typing on his computer and sitting at his home desk, which contains a laptop on a stand, a framed graduation picture of someone and a large white printer to the left of Bryan and the computer. On the left side of Bryan on the desk is another framed picture of a graduation with the numbers "2020", a water bottle, a blue face mask, and other unidentified desk accessories. Bryan is wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and black rimmed glasses and is facing a large window with white blinds and light brown curtains.