In the past, racial discrimination was commonly defended with racist theories and explanations. Racial minorities were often seen as deserving of unequal treatment because of openly racist beliefs.
Recently, two popular ways racism is perpetuated are the irrational skepticism and intentional avoidance of racial disparities and injustices. When racial disparities surface, our racial biases may cause us to cover our ears from hearing certain information or be irrationally skeptical of clear facts and trends.
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, we are observing some unsettling but unsurprising trends. On May 12th, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reported that people of color are dying with COVID-19 at disproportional rates.
The CDPH reports "the proportion of COVID-19 deaths in African Americans is about double their population representation across all adult age categories. For Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, overall numbers are low, but about three-fold difference between the proportion of COVID-19 deaths and their population representation."
Read the report: CDPH May 12 COVID-19 Updates May 12 COVID-19 Update
and view the data tables: CDPH May 12 COVID-19 Race and Ethnicity Data Tables
Sooner or later, we must face the facts and ask ourselves why this is happening. Our inclinations point towards the inequities in the United States' health care system.
As this pandemic exposes injustices in our communities that we are quick to overlook, I encourage you to not only take time to contemplate the clear trends, but to take appropriate action toward restorative justice. If you'd like to participate in judgement-free discussion on racial biases, be on the lookout for the recurrence of RA Daniel's Racial Self-Awareness Workshop Series during the next in-class semester. In this last Spring 2020 semester, workshop topics included Gimmicky Diversity, Family + Community Biases, and Mass Incarceration. These University Housing Services resident advisor programs are designed to create safe spaces to investigate our racial biases through honest and vulnerable conversations. Gimmicky Diversity and Family + Community Biases successfully facilitated genuine and respectful discussion for over 30 residents. The third and final workshop in the series addressed mass incarceration. However, because of COVID-19 precautions, this workshop was canceled.
- RA Daniel U.