key: cord-0801556-vk3s91kc
authors: Oh, Hans; Waldman, Kyle
title: Building a coalition to fight coronavirus-related discrimination against people of color
date: 2020-06-02
journal: Public Health
DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2020.05.053
sha: 647c19a813cc099cda0bfa5d23a62cceeab9ad00
doc_id: 801556
cord_uid: vk3s91kc

nan

Media outlets and online forums are continuing to document the upsurge of verbal and physical assaults against Asian Americans, with polls showing that about one third of Americans have witnessed someone blaming Asian people for the coronavirus epidemic 1 . Community advocates, legislators, and public health professionals have called for swift measures to protect Asian Americans. However, it is critical that these efforts dovetail with the work of broader coalitions against racism.

An important lesson that we have learned about racial discrimination during times of crisis is that when one racial group is unfairly targeted, other racial groups suffer collateral damage. In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (9/11), the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported a spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes 2 . However, an overlooked statistic is that 21% of Latinx-and 22% of Asian Americans (primarily non-Muslim) also reported 9/11-related racial discrimination (authors' calculations 3 ).

During the coronavirus pandemic, data from the Understanding America Study has shown that being Asian American was associated with 4.1 times greater odds of experiencing coronavirus-related discrimination when compared with non-Hispanic Whites, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics as well as prior experiences of everyday discrimination 4 . Interestingly, being non-Hispanic Black was also significantly associated with 2.8 times greater odds of experiencing coronavirus-related discrimination.

These findings may reflect the activation of tribalism during times of peril. But in the United Stateswhere White supremacy remains a part of the ideological landscape -this means the White majority has the power to redraw the social boundaries of belonging and membership in the country, to the exclusion of the 'other' people of color 5 . As such, we must address coronavirus-related discrimination directed at Asian Americans, while endeavoring to dismantle the vast system of racism that oppresses all people of color. Further, we in the Asian American community must build partnerships with Black and Latinx American communities who are suffering the greatest financial and health consequences of this pandemic 6 .

Considering context, place and culture: the National Latino and Asian American Study

The Study of Boundaries Across the Social Sciences

The authors have no funding sources to disclose.

The authors have no interests to declare.