Created in collaboration with
and illustrated by Thi Bui, Investigative Reporting Workshop
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States at a moment when the wealth divide was at record levels: millions of people living paycheck to paycheck, uninsured and unhoused, in a country that is home to the most billionaires in the world. Created in collaboration with The Nib, In/Vulnerable is a weekly series that captures both the shared experience of the pandemic and the ways it has laid bare the stark disparities that shape our lives.
Reveal has made all these comics available as a free digital collection. Click here to download the free PDF.
Jane Doe
Arlington, Texas
“I was forced to drive across the country during a pandemic just to get health care.”
![Narration: On March 30, 2020, a 24-year-old college student anonymously filed a court affidavit in support of a Planned Parenthood lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbot. These are her words. A woman’s hands hold a positive pregnancy test. On the table beneath her hands, we can see a coffee-stained pay stub for a diner and a pamphlet on how to apply for unemployment. [reference image] Jane Doe: The same week I lost my job waiting tables, I became worried that I might be pregnant, even though my partner and I had been using birth control.](https://i2.wp.com/revealnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/janedoe1.jpg?w=1200&ssl=1)
Douglas
Florence, South Carolina
“We have always been able to say goodbye to those who have left this life.”
![Sherry, leaning against the counter in her large kitchen. Everything is very clean and well-organized—just as you would expect for someone who shows off homes for a living. [see reference video] Her dog looks up at her expectantly. Note: Sherry currently lives alone with her dog (Reference photos in folder) Narration: Sherry Jenks is a real estate broker who works on Long Island, including the Hamptons, an upscale beach resort community. Sherry: When I answer the phone, someone says, how are you? I say, I'm well and extremely grateful. That's the way I'm built. Now more than ever.](https://i1.wp.com/revealnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/TB1-2.png?w=1200&ssl=1)
This is a weekly series that launched May 18, 2020.
Series edited by Amanda Pike and Esther Kaplan. Interviews by Reveal staff and adapted into comic scripts by Sarah Mirk.
This story was originally published by the Investigative Reporting Workshop, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom at the American University School of Communication. To see the original story, click here
