RICHMOND, Va. -- People around the world are finding ways to thank essentials workers during the pandemic. On Rosewood Avenue near Richmond’s Byrd Park, COVID-19 is bringing people out of the house.
Neighbors gather at a distance every evening at seven to thank the people who are working to keep the community fed, protected and healthy.
They use music as their sounding board with the help of a well-known artist.
“I've been here in this neighborhood for 50 years," Plunky Branch said. "These days, I have been just doing my part, to try to spread some good cheer… usually, it takes 10 minutes."
Plunky Branch of Plunky & Oneness and his neighbors share a message they hope the world never forgets.
“I think this gives us an opportunity to face some of the shortcomings that we as a society have," Plunky said. "This idea of not appreciating people, or of not taking care of people who don’t have as much, or people who have any kind of shortcomings. We have lived in such a way that we can ignore that and keep on going about our daily lives. But now that we are in this situation where we are all confined, we all can catch a disease, we all can lose our jobs, now we have an opportunity to reshape some of these things from scratch.”
At a time when social distancing is keeping people apart, neighbors on Rosewood Avenue have found a way to grow closer with music and lots of gratitude.
“We are part of this together… music is a healing force,” Plunky said.