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Marvin Hightower - Tumultuous 2020

Hightower discusses his experiences as president of the Peoria NAACP branch and as Reverend of Liberty Church of Peoria throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Hightower begins the interview detailing his childhood as well as the formative experiences that led him to attend Bible college in Columbus, Ohio. He chronologically outlines the start of the pandemic and the way the NAACP and his church adapted to the changes, starting in March of 2020 and up to the time of the interview, February of 2022. Hightower also describes the impact of the murder of George Floyd on the Peoria community, detailing his experiences over the summer of 2020 with protests for racial justice. He concludes by describing his overall impressions of the past pandemic years and how his perspective changed.