Viral Racism: COVID-19 and the Spread of Racial Bias

Dr. Raquel Robvais Department of Communication Studies

COVID-19 discloses the fissures and fractures that belie America’s creed, E pluribus unum. It articulates the foibles and fabrications that have questioned whether America believes in the values that it has broadcast since its birth. To brown and black folk, COVID-19 tells the truth. To those willing to listen, it tells us that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are in reach for some and out of site for others. This class will unravel the many threads that the coronavirus has tangled again and fortified with a stronger knot. A critical observation and sustained examination over the semester will lead us to understand that America’s collision with COVID-19 could be its opportunity to, “begin again” and make amends for its failures.