University of Cincinnati Press
Race, Ethnicity, and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Distributed for University of Cincinnati Press
Race, Ethnicity, and the COVID-19 Pandemic
To understand racial disparities in COVID-19 infections and deaths, we must first understand how they are linked to racial inequality. In the United States, the material advantages afforded by whiteness lead to lower rates of infections and deaths from COVID-19 when compared to the rates among Black, Latino, and Native American populations. Most experts point to differences in population density, underlying health conditions, and proportions of essential workers as the primary determinants in the levels of COVID-19 deaths.
The national response to the pandemic has laid bare the fundamentals of a racialized social structure. Assembled by a prestigious group of sociologists, this volume examines how particularly during the first year of COVID-19, the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic led to different and poorer outcomes for Black, Latino, and Native American populations. While color-blindness shaped national discussions on essential workers, charity, and differential mortality, minorities were overwhelmingly affected. The essays in this collection provide a mix of critical examination of the progress and direction of our COVID-19 response, personal accounts of the stark difference in care and outcomes for minorities throughout the United States, and offer recommendations to create a foundation for future response and research during the critical early days.
400 pages | 36 figures | 7 x 10 | © 2022
Sociology: Individual, State and Society, Race, Ethnic, and Minority Relations
Table of Contents
Preface: Preface: Systemic Racism: The Common Thread
Part I: COVID-19, Racism, and the Legacy of Colonialism
Chapter 1: Racial Inequality and the Covid-19 Global Pandemic
Melvin E. Thomas
Chapter 2: COVID-19 as White Space: The Collective Perils of Whiteness During the Pandemic
David L. Brunsma, Letisha Engracia Cardoso Brown, Inaash Islam, Joong Won Kim, and Steve McGlamery
Chapter 3: Color-Blind Racial Discourse in Pandemic Times
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
Chapter 4: Actual Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality for the Non-Hispanic Black Population Compared to Non-Hispanic White Population in 35 US States and Their Association with Structural Racism
Michael Siegel, Isabella Critchfield-Jain, Matthew Boykin, and Alicia Owens
Chapter 5: COVID-19 Exposes Deep Racial Inequities and Vulnerability in the United States
Alana Dass
Chapter 6: The COVID-19 Crisis Among Native Americans in the United States
Loren Henderson
Chapter 7: Global Racial Capitalism and COVID-19
Johnny Eric Williams and David G. Embrick
Part II: COVID-19 and Selected U.S. Institutions
Chapter 8: Essential Yet Expendable: The Paradoxical Racialization of COVID-19
Jan-Martijn Meij and Diane L. Odeh
Chapter 9: Introducing the Strategic Health and Economic Emergency Management Plan for Vulnerable Populations: How to Protect Black Health and Black Wealth in the U.S. Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Lori Latrice Martin
Chapter 10: The Value of Incarcerated Black Lives during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploration of Healthcare Disparities of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Populations
Britany J. Gatewood, Ebony Russ, Yanesia Norris, and A. Cayce
Chapter 11: The Impact of COVID-19 on Black Americans Employed in the Service Sector
Anita Fernander and Lovoria Williams
Part III: Personal Experiences With COVID-19
Chapter 12: Risks, Relationships, and ‘Rona: How Five Black Mothers Navigate the COVID-19 Pandemic
Sandra Barnes
Chapter 13: “Sister Space”: Clinical Insights From a Black Women’s Support Group During COVID-19
Haley Sparks
Chapter 14: “Black Lives Matter #saytheirnames”
Tiffany J. Grant
Chapter 15: “Conclusion: The Path Forward”
Loren Henderson, Melvin Thomas, and Hayward Derrick Horton
Epilogue: “The Pandemic Continues”