[dropcap size=big]W[/dropcap]hile most students in the Los Angeles Unified School District are sheltering at home trying to figure out how to log into their online classrooms, some kids whose parents have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus are taking matters into their own hands.
It’s the late afternoon in Lennox, where a large percentage of working-class “essential” employees are getting home from work. The streets begin to be filed with gardeners, plumbers, and construction trucks from workers who start their shift at 5 AM every day. They are all returning home from Brentwood and Beverly Hills.
But on the corner of Inglewood Avenue and 104th street, a mini-van with cleaning supplies visible through the window pulls up to a local check-cashing shop and two ladies wearing yellow dishwashing gloves exit the van. They approach two young boys selling masks under a beach umbrella, but they are nowhere near an ocean. They are on the concrete streets of South L.A. on the first hot day of spring.
“Our parents lost their jobs due to the Corona and we out here trying to help out. My dad worked at a restaurant and my mom worked for a couple of different people.”
“A cuanto las máscaras, joven?” How much for the masks? One of them asks. “ A cinco cada una!” ($5 each) one of them replied enthusiastically. The lady takes one, looks at it, and as soon as her face begins to show disinterest, the other boy quickly interjects in Spanish, “They have three layers for better protection against coronavirus, and they’re washable. You can reuse these and be protected all day while at work.” The ladies look at each other, shrug, and agree to buy a couple of masks. The taller, older-looking one of them reaches down to the shoe box and pulls out another packaged mask. They just made $10.