Interview with Jennifer Taff, May 22, 2020

Partial Transcript: [John]: So to start, Jennifer, where and when were you born?

Segment Synopsis: Taff briefly describes her early life, touching on her family as well as her educational journey around the state of Wisconsin, leading to her eventual career as a social worker for Milwaukee Public Schools.

Keywords: Family; Milwaukee Public Schools; Social Worker

Subjects: 2020s; Career; Family; Manitowoc, WI; Milwaukee, WI; School

Partial Transcript: [John]: And, so how has your job as a school social worker changed during the pandemic?

Segment Synopsis: Taff describes how her job as a school social worker has shifted due to the pandemic, which seems especially difficult for her due to the deeply personal nature of her work for both her and her students. She goes through the ways she virtually helps her students, noting how the everyday worries have shifted.

Keywords: COVID; Milwaukee Public Schools; Pandemic Response; Social Worker

Subjects: 2020s; COVID-19 Pandemic; Pandemic

Partial Transcript: [John]: Sure, um, so what's your earliest memory of COVID-19?

Segment Synopsis: Taff describes her earliest memory of COVID-19, where she recalls hearing about the "mystery illness" in China in early January 2020, attempting to keep up with it from the beginning.

Keywords: COVID; China; Illness; Pandemic Response

Subjects: 2020s; COVID-19 Pandemic; Pandemic

Partial Transcript: Um, and, um, one of the reasons we wanted to talk to you, not only is your perspective as a school social worker very valuable, but you actually had to vote in the April 7th Wisconsin primary election uh, which has made you somewhat famous, because of a sign you made.

Segment Synopsis: Taff describes how her famous voting sign came about, beginning with her desire to vote absentee for the sake of her family, never receiving one, and her anger with various legal decisions forcing residents to vote in-person if they had not received their absentee ballots. In response, she let her frustration known through the proper governmental channels, as this ruling had come about just hours before in-person voting was to occur. She channeled this frustration on April 7th (primary election day) to make a sign from an old moving box and sharpie, with the message "This Is Ridiculous", mirroring her feelings about the entire process.

Keywords: 2020 Election; COVID; Pandemic Response; Primary Voting

Subjects: 2020s; COVID-19 Pandemic; Milwaukee, WI; Pandemic; Voting

Partial Transcript: [John]: Yeah, so, uh, uh, you brought the sign to your polling place. What polling place were you at?

Segment Synopsis: Taff goes through her story of taking the sign with her to her polling place (Washington High School), describing the irony and disappointment of physically going into one of the hardest hit communities not only in terms of COVID, but socially and justice-wise. She also goes through the story of after having waited for about two hours with her "This Is Ridiculous" sign, getting honked at in solidarity by cars and buses, and an intern for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked to take a picture of her with her sign, asking her to explain her story. Taff explained that through the decisions made but the government, she felt as though she had to choose between her right to vote and caring for her father.

Keywords: COVID; Pandemic Response; Polling Place; Primary Voting; Sign

Subjects: COVID-19 Pandemic; Pandemic; Voting

Partial Transcript: So, so you got your picture taken, and then it ended up in, uh, like, that I remember it being on several web articles and online and on the news, and so what was that like, the "after" experience?

Segment Synopsis: Taff comments on the fame garnered by her "This Is Ridiculous" sign as it gained traction, becoming a common picture during that news cycle. She describes how she received many interview requests from national media outlets, commenting on the speed of it all, and how none of it was planned.

Keywords: COVID; Sign; Voting

Subjects: 2020 Election; 2020s; COVID-19 Pandemic; Pandemic

Partial Transcript: So, uh to kind of wrap things up a little bit, um, I've been asking this question in all of the interviews we're doing for this initiative, it's kind of a broad question that you can answer in any way you choose.

Segment Synopsis: Taff answers the question of if there is something she values most during COVID, which she says is the selflessness of helping and caring for the community, and not being frustrated with those who are not.

Keywords: COVID; Frustration; Pandemic Response; Selflessness

Subjects: 2020s; COVID-19 Pandemic; Community; Values