The first authoritative source on the consequences of the COVID-19
pandemic for racial and ethnic minorities.
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.
