Covid-19

The year 2020 brought with it a storm of social frailties as many witnessed the local and global political divide between the United States and foreign countries at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). While the media focuses on macro issues faced across continents and the enormity of this evolving dilemma, we as a society continue to be exclusive in our depiction of the human experience by seeing current affairs through a White lens (Pulido, 2015). Perspectives and standards continue to be based on how White America is affected, extending beyond the issue of White privilege and instead emphasizing superiority and White power structures that have historically been afforded by White supremacy and led to the social exclusion and premature deaths of people of color (Bonds & Inwood, 2016). COVID-19 is no exception, as the data provide nuances of the state of living across the nation with little to no emphasis on race and ethnicity data or what it means for individuals residing in predominantly Black or Hispanic communities. These neighborhoods tend to be concentrated in low-income geographic areas throughout the United States. Hispanic people have especially been impacted as they tend to work in lower-paying jobs than Black people and White people, and are less likely to have a college degree, or may not be able to fully communicate with their English-speaking neighbors as a result of the language barrier (American Psychological Association, 2017; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). Geographic studies of Whiteness have further detailed how privilege and the spatial contingency of topography not only reflect racial and ethnic patterns, but are also grounded in the racialization processes and practices that create structures riddled in White privilege (Bonds & Inwood, 2016). While those affiliated with or whose families originated from Latin countries may identify as Latino/a, Latinx, or Hispanic, the term “Hispanic” was chosen here due to being commonly used in this country and not as a form of exclusion or degradation. Much like the terms “African American” or “Black,” these are terms that acknowledge the historical and ever-growing identification of an ethnic group of people. The term “Hispanic” was intentionally used here since it is also used widely by the U.S. government and media outlets, which this commentary is referencing

Development economics · Dilemma · Economic growth · Ethnic group · Political science · Politics · Privilege (computing · Racism · Sociology · White (mutation · White privilege · White supremacy · Gender Studies · Law · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

• Interracial and Interethnic Marriages

  Open Access•Michael E Woolley, Geoffrey L Greif et al.•Social Work Research•2024

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• Geographies of race and ethnicity 1

  Open Access•Lucila Pulido, Laura Pulido•Progress in Human Geography•2015

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• Beyond white privilege

  Open Access•Anne Bonds, Joshua F J Inwood et al.•Progress in Human Geography•2015

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