A forceful critique of how and why states failed to protect marginalized communities in their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications of ignoring the existing emergencies that exacerbated the pandemic-s devastating effects. The COVID-19 pandemic inaugurated a state of emergency unprecedented for most Americans. Some could observe this emergency from the relative safety of their homes by working remotely, conducting routine medical appointments over video calls, and getting groceries by delivery. At the same time, those in marginalized communities got sick and died without access to the same privileges, sometimes even at the expense of others. After all, someone had to ship goods from warehouses, someone had to clean the hospital, and someone had to shelve and deliver groceries. In this book, sociologist Claire Laurier Decoteau attempts to document and theorize the emergencies of COVID-19 by looking at the experiences of Chicagoans and the policies that shaped those expe
