Systemic racism that lasts long after someone has served their sentence and walked out of prison is a central theme in Alexander's book. In this week's section, former prisoners are barred from getting jobs due to past prison time, as they have to check the box on most job applications admitting to their felony conviction in they are "in the box" of joblessness (Alexander 153). Once they release this information, the job offers dry up. About 33 percent of young black men are out of work, and the number is as high as 65 percent for those who have dropped out of school, including those incarcerated (152). Their past convictions, even long after their sentences have been served, affect their ability to get housing, to support their families, sometimes even to vote, and to survive.
Similarly, while COVID-19 can affect anyone, the long-lasting effects of it are more present and harmful in families with lower socioeconomic status, affected by homelessness or lack of affordable housing, refugees, and other "low-income and marginalized communities" (Benfer and Wiley). Not being able to work or afford to stock up on two weeks worth of groceries or seek medical care makes these families more vulnerable to this virus. Lack of a job is a major financial burden because not everyone can work from home. For example, laborers or other physical jobs do not have the luxury of working online, which creates a massive financial burden. The mom who works in the grocery store or is a cashier at the pharmacy can't bring her kids with her to work, creating an impossible situation.
In this time, our president has called this virus the "Chinese Flu" and the "Kung Flu" (Chandra). This type of blatant racism causes discrimination toward Asians and Asian Americans, especially when such language is used by a government official. There have been many videos online of people moving away from Asian Americans on the subway. A writer in Psychology Today says, "For the president to not take a clear line denouncing these racist and fear-based actions puts the entire Asian American community at risk . . . The problem is not just the term 'Chinese Virus,' but also the implicit linkage to a long history of anti-Asian rhetoric and violence" (Chandra). This sort of racism embedded within our government is not unlike the systemic racism discussed in The New Jim Crow.
This pandemic is on everyone's minds and affecting everyone's day to day lives. Although none of us can escape the harmful effects of the virus, except maybe by social distancing, we can do something about the criminal justice system, employment policies, housing policies, and the United States' long history of racism against Asian Americans.
Works Cited
Benfer, Emily A., and Lindsay F. Wiley. "Health Justice Strategies To Combat COVID-19: Protecting Vulnerable Communities During A Pandemic." Health Affairs, 19 Mar. 2020, www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20200319.757883/full/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2020.
Chandra, Ravi. "Calling COVID-19 a 'Chinese Virus' or 'Kung Flu' Is Racist" ["psychology Today"]. Psychology Today, 18 Mar. 2020, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pacific-heart/202003/calling-covid-19-chinese-virus-or-kung-flu-is-racist. Accessed 24 Mar. 2020.
Galea, Sandro. "The Poor and Marginalized Will Be the Hardest Hit by Coronavirus." Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2020, blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-poor-and-marginalized-will-be-the-hardest-hit-by-coronavirus/. Accessed 24 Mar. 2020.
Nate,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog because I liked the way you linked it with today and the issues with COVID-19. Having something everyone can relate to and tying it into your book was a great way to explain what is happening to others who are not reading. I am reading The New Jim Crow and I know that finding a way to make others feel connected could be difficult at times but in your post it was very well done. I liked that you used other sources to further explain your reasoning as well as pinpointing who and what kind of racism you are seeing or hearing about.
I thought it was interesting that you found our presidents remark of the 'Chinese Virus' to be racist. I know there are multiple stances on whether or not that term can be racist or not so I thought it was great that you shared your thoughts and backed it up with evidence.
Overall, very well done.
You anticipated my class activity for today! A good post about how race/ethnicity/economic status lead to problems for many people.
ReplyDeleteHi Nate,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, props to you for doing outside research and making a works cited for your blog post.
I think that this is not only a very relevant issue to be discussing, but this is clearly a very, deeply important issue to be discussing. I like that you took the main idea of the book, which as far as I understand focuses mainly on African-Americans, and applied the same principle of institutionalized racism to Asian Americans. I feel as though it's only very recently that Asian, Latinx, and Indigenous people have been included in the discussion of racism, and now is certainly a time where it's hard to deny that institutionalized racism is a much more broad and far-reaching problem than most would think.
I want to know what you think -- as we work through this pandemic on a global level and people are finally confronted with the often shushed reality of racism against Asian and Asian-American people, how do you think that COVID-19 will change the way we talk about racism against Asian-Americans?