There is emerging evidence that many disadvantaged communities in the United States are being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Native American communities share some of the characteristics of other disadvantaged communities that might make them susceptible to greater impacts, but they also face unique challenges.
Chinese and Chinese-Americans in San Francisco were scapegoated for all epidemic outbreaks throughout the mid-late 19th and early 20th century. To white San Franciscans, Chinatown represented a dangerous space of emergence for both disease and immorality, and the neighborhood was consequently targeted by health officials. Public health was also utilized as a reason to restrict Chinese immigration.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise of anti-Asian hate incidents that has led to fewer customers for Asian-run businesses and a surge in violence as well. But this is just another chapter in a long timeline of anti-Asian bigotry that spans centuries of U.S. history.
