The Year of March
By Scheherazade Washington Parrish
“March 13, 2020-schools will be closed indefinitely and virtual learning begins Monday. My son‘s birthday party had to be canceled due to COVID-19. We have started working from home. March 23, 2020. There is no Lysol spray anywhere. I brought plenty of bleach. There are no masks available. I cut a sock and put a menstrual pad on it and tied it around my mouth. This is my protection. March 24, 2020- I have bleached myself five times today... March 55, 2020- White folk are protesting wearing masks and sheltering in place because they need their hair done and their teeth clean and roots bleached and nails done. March 58, 2020- if you know Trump wasn’t talking about Lysol when he said disinfectant then you know Kaepernick wasn’t protesting the military when he kneeled. March 62, 2020- some of you live to hate. I just read that the Flu Klux Klan is also known as Vanilla Isis. March 65, 2020. Word on the street is schools likely won’t be reopening in the Fall. Texas mayor broke her own stay at home order to go to the nail salon... March 93, 2020-“it’s horrible that an unarmed black man was killed, but destroying property has to stop“ White people you are prioritizing the wrong thing. Fuck kneeling cops. It’s offensive. A mockery. A never forget...March 112, 2020. Donald Trump says he thinks Americans are wearing masks to show they disapprove of him and not as preventative measures. He also claims that nobody knew about Juneteenth, and that he made it “very famous“. March 121 2020– the EU will ban Americans once borders reopen. Wearing a mask is a sign of mutual respect during the coronavirus pandemic. March124, 2020 - Fuck you if you waited until 2020 to give a fuck about Black people. March 149, 2020 - Trump says he won’t pay respects to late Rep. John Lewis. March 152, 2020 - American passports are useless now...March 173, 2020- the number of COVID-19 deaths has reached 174,248. Dear Netflix, yes, I am still watching.”
Scheherazade Washington Parrish is a mother and writer living and working in Detroit.
