COVID-19 claims 15 people in life of one Milwaukee woman Kenosha Atlanta Kim Covid Tennessee

The first person Kimberly Montgomery lost to COVID-19 was her aunt. She had difficulty breathing, so her daughter took her to the emergency room. It was the last time her daughter saw her alive.

Then, in succession, 14 other people in Montgomery’s world – family members, friends, friends who were like family – succumbed to the same disease.

There was the retired policeman who was the porter and deacon in their church. The brother of a friend who was a restaurant chef. A close friend, a nurse who took care of virus patients in Atlanta. A cousin who came home from the hospital after 12 days thinking she was going to be better but didn’t. An artist and drummer for an African dance company.

It has been an unimaginable series of losses in the year since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, and all but one who died were blacks like Montgomery.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever … process them all,” said Montgomery, 59. She added, “The shock factor never wears off. But it’s bad.”

Nationwide, blacks make up about 12 percent of the population, but they account for nearly 15 percent of all coronavirus deaths from known races, according to the APM Research Lab, which tracks mortality from the disease.

More than 73,000 black Americans have died from COVID-19 and have the second highest death rate of any racial group after the indigenous peoples.

At the same time, Montgomery saw her community grapple with a statewide reckoning of race, police, and other systemic issues. Her personal pain has only fueled her determination to work for the common good, including in her role as director of interstate relations for the city of Milwaukee

“Hearing the statistics … seeing the Minnesota incidents and the George Floyd incidents and the Kenosha incidents is what keeps me going,” she said. “Because these victims look like me.”

Montgomery has spent much of her time last year campaigning for COVID-related funding for Milwaukee. She also works with the Milwaukee alumni chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, a historically black sorority, to raise awareness about vaccines and testing through social media and virtual events.

She works closely with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who says Montgomery always knew the importance of her job, but he has recently felt more urgent.

“This is not a theoretical exercise for them. It’s very real, “said Barrett.

Their experiences, he added, have also sharpened his perspective: “It shows how devastating the past year and this pandemic have been.”

Montgomery emphasizes their own suffering, saying that others have suffered major spouse or parent losses. She mourns her friends and family, especially her cousin Ingrid Davis, who took her mother to the emergency room never to see her again.

Davis, who also lost a cousin to COVID-19, says she’s staying home a lot because of the pandemic, so she doesn’t see Montgomery that often, but they talk a lot.

“Kim is a social butterfly,” she said. “I call her the second mayor of Milwaukee, but I think I’ve seen a small decrease in everything that has happened.”

Montgomery mostly works from home and diligently wears a mask when she’s not around. She will be tested before visiting her parents in Tennessee. She is afraid of infecting them.

“That makes me very emotional. I get angry with people when I see people who don’t even have the mask over their nose. It’s ineffective. And it really bothers me, ”she said.

But Montgomery also has a newfound appreciation for life when he notices things like the chirping of birds in the background when she’s on the phone with her 31-year-old son. She is one of those people who laughs easily and a lot and who has earned the nickname “Sunshine” all her life.

Even so, COVID-19 is never far from their thoughts.

“My prayer is every night for everyone involved with this disease.”