Old biases resurface and new scapegoats are created during times of fear and anxiety-especially when governmental leadership feeds those biases. We encourage everyone to promote correct information about the coronavirus, its risk and transmission, and the importance of not stigmatizing any person or group based on background or country of origin. According to the ADL, "Contagious diseases often fuel scapegoating and xenophobia. As with any public health crisis, the fear of a pandemic leads to misinformation, conspiracy theories and scapegoating, especially on social media platforms and the internet." Many of us have seen the news regarding incidents of attacks against Asian and Asian Americans (reports incidents here). Moreover, there is an uptick in white supremacist groups using the virus to attack Jewish people, shifting responsibility for the spread of the virus to them as a plot against white European-descended Americans. And, according to a University of Southern California study, "a new form of discrimination and maltreatment resulting from fear of infection is rearing its ugly head and targeting both black Americans and Asian Americans at an alarming level." Plus, the pandemic has exacerbated systemic racial disparities, resulting in a disproportionate adverse impact on communities of color. Knowing that those who perpetuate racial myths are still hard at work and even taking full advantage of the pandemic, we must continue our community's pro-integrative work and our activism.

For further reading, see below:

• Coronavirus Crisis Elevates Antisemitic, Racist Tropes, ADL, March 6, 2020
• How white supremacists are using the coronavirus pandemic to spread hate, NJ.com, March 23, 2020
• Discrimination Against Asian, Black Americans More Likely Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, By Ying Liu and Brian Karl Finch, USC Schaeffer, March 23, 2020
• How to reduce the racial gap in COVID-19 deaths, Brookings Institution, Rashawn Ray, Friday, April 10, 2020
• Black-Owned Businesses Could Face Hurdles in Federal Aid Program, NYT, Emily Flitter, April 11, 2020The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Racial Wealth Gap, By Danyelle Solomon and Darrick Hamilton, Center for American Progress and The Kirwan Institute, March 18, 2020
• C.D.C. Releases Early Demographic Snapshot of Worst Coronavirus Cases, New York Times, April 10, 2020
• Stop Blaming Black People for Dying of the Coronavirus, The Atlantic, 4April 14, 2020
• Racism and coronavirus double the damage inflicted upon African Americans, Chicago Sun Times, April 13, 2020
• More COVID-19 testing sites to open in Charlotte’s minority communities, WBTV, April 13, 2020
• How The Coronavirus Is Disproportionately Impacting Black Americans, On Point, April 9, 2020 
• Why some people of color say they won't wear homemade masks, CNN, April 4, 2020
• Black Americans Face Alarming Rates of Coronavirus Infection in Some States, New York Times, April 7, 2020
• The coronavirus is infecting and killing black Americans at an alarmingly high rate, Washington Post, April 7, 2020
• What the COVID-19 Pandemic Means for Black Americans, Scientific American, April 7, 2020
• ‘We’re flying blind’: African Americans may be bearing the brunt of Covid-19, but access to data are limited, Stat News, April 6, 2020
• Early Data Shows African Americans Have Contracted and Died of Coronavirus at an Alarming Rate, ProPublica, April 3, 2020
• Scholars vs. COVID-19 Racism, Inside Higher Education, April 2, 2020
• Doctors Are Concerned That Black Communities Might Not Be Getting Access To Coronavirus Tests, Buzzfeed, March 22, 2020