Flickr / Taymaz Valley

Two Black mothers were separated from their babies and held at gunpoint by federal law enforcement officers while taking their children to the National Mall in Washington, DC to splash in the fountains of the World War II Memorial last month, according to their lawyer and reported by The Washington Post.

Officers crashed their vehicle into the women’s car, forced them out and handcuffed them, all while not wearing masks. Washington, D.C. saw its third-hottest July on record this year, with the most 90-degree days of any month ever recorded. It was also the first month to never fall below 71 degrees since record-keeping began in 1871. The incident illustrates the interconnection of racism, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic.