Interviewer
Autumn Jackson
Files
Abstract
This interview was conducted by Autumn Jackson with Tysheeka Purvis as part of Project 2020: A Collaborative Oral History. Purvis discusses her experiences as a working mother during the COVID-19 pandemic, including balancing her professional responsibilities with caring for her two children, an eighth grader and a fourth grader, while they attended school from home. Purvis, a native of Bennettsville, South Carolina, had moved to North Carolina in October 2019 and worked as a child support case coordinator when the pandemic began. She describes adjusting to working from home while caring for her children and managing household responsibilities.
Purvis discusses the challenges of remote education, childcare, and maintaining personal time during the pandemic. She describes feeling overwhelmed by her responsibilities as a mother, teacher, and employee and discusses finding support through friends, prayer, and crafting. She also discusses her reluctance to return to the workplace after approximately a year and a half of working from home and the difficulty of readjusting to an office environment.
The interview also addresses Purvis’s concerns about her children returning to in-person education, including COVID-19 exposure, masking policies, and their adjustment after a year of remote learning. She reflects on their academic progress and the challenges of transitioning to new grade levels. Notable topics include motherhood, parenting, employment, remote work, education, childcare, mental health, COVID-19 safety measures, and changes to everyday life during the pandemic.
Tysheeka T. Purvis (b. 1983) is a native of Bennettsville, South Carolina, and a Child Support Case Coordinator in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. She earned a B.S. in Finance and Economics from Grand Canyon University and an M.S. in Human and Social Sciences from Walden University.
Publication Date
11-27-2021
Unique Identifier
OH 756
Format
MP3; M4A; WAV;
Length
00:11:26
Restrictions
Open under the rules and regulations of the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections at Winthrop University
Keywords
COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020, Black Women, Parenting, Motherhood, Education
Recommended Citation
Tysheeka T. Purvis, COVID-19 Pandemic, and Black Women, "Interview with Tysheeka Purvis - OH 756" (2021). Winthrop University Oral History Program. OH 756.
https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/oralhistoryprogram/670