Black and Asian American respondents are reporting increased levels of discrimination amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a poll from the Pew Research Center released Wednesday.
What We Know:
- A survey by the Pew Research Center found that 58 percent of Asian Americans say that racist comments targeting the group are more prevalent now compared to before the pandemic, while 45 percent of Black respondents said the same.
- That’s more than double the percentages of Hispanic (21 percent) and white (18 percent) respondents who reported people voicing racist views toward them since the coronavirus outbreak, according to the poll.
- According to POLITICO, African Americans, who are at a greater risk of contracting and dying from the virus, say they have faced more discrimination since the pandemic began.
- The Pew survey also found that 38 percent of Black Americans and 39 percent of Asian Americans reported someone acting uncomfortable around them due to their race over the past several months. This is compared to the 13 percent of white adults.
- As far as current racial behavior in the country, nearly 4 in 10 Americans (39 percent) said those of Asian descent were more likely to face racist attacks or insensitive behavior during the pandemic, and 30 percent said the same of Black people.
- Concerns about racism and hate crimes targeting Asian Americans have continued throughout the pandemic. President Donald Trump has referred to the virus as the “kung flu” on a few occasions, in addition to the “Chinese virus,” noting that it is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China. The White House denied that Trump uses racist phrases and does not consider “kung flu” offensive.
Overall, the Pew survey had roughly 9,654 U.S. adults participate in early June, with a margin of error of 1.6 percentage points for the full population, 8.2 percentage points for questions asked of Asian respondents, and 5.3 percentage points for questions directed to Black respondents.
