The U.S. Has A History Of Linking Disease With Race And Ethnicity
People eye each other with suspicion while dealing with the fear of Coronavirus. LA Johnson hide caption
People eye each other with suspicion while dealing with the fear of Coronavirus.
LA Johnson(Encore episode.) The coronavirus is all over the headlines these days. Accompanying those headlines? Suspicion and harassment of Asians and Asian Americans.
Our colleague Gene Demby, co-host of NPR's Code Switch podcast, explains that this is part of a longer history in the United States of camouflaging xenophobia and racism as public health and hygiene concerns. We hear from historian Erika Lee, author of "America For Americans: A History Of Xenophobia In The United States."
LEARN MORE:
Check out Code Switch's full digital story and podcast episode.
And here's a collection of NPR's coverage on the rise in violence against Asian Americans.
Erika Lee's book "America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in the United States"
Follow Code Switch hosts Gene Demby and Shereen Marisol Meraji on Twitter. They're @GeeDee215 and @RadioMirage. Plus, follow Emily on Twitter, @EmilyKwong1234, for her musings on science news.
As always, reach out to the show by e-mailing shortwave@npr.org.
The Short Wave version of this episode was produced by Rebecca Ramirez, edited by Viet Le and fact-checked by Emily Vaughn.