COVID-19 has affected millions of people worldwide, making medical supplies including mask and gowns, nearly impossible to come by at the height of the pandemic. In early stages of the crisis, essential workers and communities in general had a hard time finding protective material, with some online orders even backed up for months.
Though the development of several FDA-approved vaccines have given us all tangible reasons to believe that the country is finally headed in the direction of recovery, masks or face coverings are still mandatory in most states.
To help fill the gap in mask-making supplies, a few Black designers have been stepping up over the last year by providing masks to alleviate the shortage. Among them was designer Kerby Jean-Raymond, who used his Instagram platform to announce his plans for providing aid to COVID-19 victims. The Brooklyn-based creative turned his New York studio into a donation center and provided small businesses with financial support, while independent brand Six20 curated a six-minute video detailing how to sew masks following the current CDC protocols. Keep scrolling to check out a few more Black designers who have taken to the frontlines to help in the fight against the coronavirus.
For more information about effective face masks, visit who.int. This story was originally published on March 31, 2020.
