Naomi McCormick Oral History Interview
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Title
Naomi McCormick Oral History Interview
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Description
Naomi McCormick lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa and is a retired clinical health psychologist. She grew up in a secular Jewish, inner-city Chicago household as an only child of a social worker and an industrial quality control inspector. Naomi talks about her education, meeting her husband, lived in Plattsburg, NY for 20 years and then moved to Iowa when her husband began teaching at the University of Northern Iowa. She shares how being part of the Jewish Community was important at different times in her life and how she became more involved with the Sons of Jacob Synagogue later in life. <br>She became aware of Covid-19 in March 2020 when they traveled to New York for a wedding and there were so many restrictions. Back in Iowa they didn't personally feel the economic, emotional impact of the pandemic as many others because she and her husband are retired and prosperous. She talks about ways she copes: walking around her neighborhood with a friend, going to nature areas to draw while her husband does photography, makes more phone calls and family Zoom connections, plus goes online for a monthly Sons of Jacob zoomed service and a weekly Shabbat Club. In the SOJ congregation she notes there's a range of reactions and opinions about the disease, vaccinations, wearing masks, and many people are anxious. She tells how she just missed being caught out in the derecho as she drove back from a medical appointment near Iowa City. She shares about her involvement with several interfaith groups who address racial injustice issues and work toward equity. A mural about civil rights painted by youth from Waterloo Center for the Arts was defaced; she helped repaint it. She also talks about antisemitic incidents she experienced in her neighborhood, at some art classes, and within her clinical psychology practice. Although she did not attend any rallies for Black Lives Matter or to protest George Floyd, she helped organize a letter writing campaign for improved the health and safety conditions at the Tyson Foods Waterloo facility and to protest plant managers betting on the number of employees to get Covid. When asked what give her hope, she answered with what gives her meaning: a purposeful life which for her is caring for other people, helping, educating them, and being educated, too. She wrapped up her interview saying, "We need to find common ground and be respectful"
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Agents
Naomi McCormick
Susan Jellinger
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Keywords
Secular Jews
Cedar Falls IA
Naomi Beth McCormick
Jane Addams Settlement House
Hull House
Chicago IL
State University of New York College at Plattsburgh
Memorial Hospital
Mayo Clinic
Great Depression
Education
Mind/Body Wellness Program
University of Iowa Hospital
Plattsburgh NY
Family History
University of California Los Angeles
Coronavirus
Roosevelt University
Support Network
Clinical Psychology
University of Northern Iowa
Jewish Community Center
Anti-vaxxers
Drawing
Anti-maskers
Waterloo IA
Zoom Meetings
Long-range Planning Committee
Rabbi Ora Schnitzer
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Sons of Jacob Synagogue
Online Work
Anxiety
Iowa Nice
Hawkeye Community College
Anit-war Movement
Mask Mandates
Photography
Covid Guidelines
Signal and Noise Art Show
John McCormick
Ibram X Kendi
Derecho
Cedar Valley Interfaith Council
Social Distancing
Rabbi Rebea Kushner
Women of Faith community organization
Hearst Center for the Arts
RBG Shabbat Club
Vandalism
Mayor Quentin Hart
24/7 Wall St
Waterloo Police Griffin Logo
Christmas Cards
Muslim Mosque
Cedar Rapids IA
Letter-writing Campaign
Christmas Decorations
Diversity
Curriculum Vitae
NAACP
Religious Practices
Patriots For Christ
Tyson Foods
Antisemitism
Viktor Frankl
Social Justice
Jewish Holidays
Jewish Ethical Teachings
Menorah
Capital Insurrection
Computer-mediated Communication
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Collection
Iowa Jewish Historical Society