Three women share how isolation, instability and loneliness led to creativity, family and community
It was business as usual for Jordan Madison in early 2020. Her commute included taking a bus from Silver Spring, Maryland, to her job in Bethesda. Madison, 25, was working at the time on her license to become a clinical marriage and family therapist, and worked part-time at Instacart to earn extra money. By March 2020, the world had shut down because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The first two weeks, I was like: ‘OK, this is nice. I don’t have to leave my house. This is a nice little vacation. We’ll probably go back to work in like a month or so,’” Madison remembered thinking.
In the following weeks, there were mask mandates and social-distancing requirements in grocery and retail stores. Gathering places – restaurants, shops, clubs and bars – were shut down. Schools were trying to figure out how to provide education online and churches were engaging their parishioners virtually. Zoom replaced in-person meetings and friends connected through FaceTime.
The pandemic also laid bare the health and wealth disparities in the US, as Black people were three more times likely to be diagnosed with and die from the coronavirus. They were more likely to be essential workers – those who worked in transportation, healthcare, grocery and retail stores and meat factories – and, as a result, most likely to be exposed to the coronavirus. At the same time, as businesses were forced to close, unemployment increased in Black communities, and Black entrepreneurs, unable to get access to funds set aside for small businesses, struggled.
