{"id":1009,"date":"2020-12-13T17:46:20","date_gmt":"2020-12-13T22:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyujournalismprojects.org\/gdjfall20\/?p=1009"},"modified":"2020-12-13T17:47:38","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T22:47:38","slug":"final-iowas-asian-americans-experience-increasing-racism-under-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyujournalismprojects.org\/gdjfall20\/index.php\/2020\/12\/13\/final-iowas-asian-americans-experience-increasing-racism-under-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Iowa’s Asian Americans Experience Increasing Racism Under COVID-19 Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iowa’s Asian Americans Experience Increasing Racism Under COVID-19 Pandemic<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Shiyu Xu<\/span><\/p>\n

When Hannah Pinski, a sophomore at the University of Iowa, returned to campus in September, she was worried.<\/p>\n

As she walked along the street near the downtown area after picking up her books from the book store, a woman grabbed her kids and pulled them away from Pinski as she was passing by. As soon as they passed Pinski, the woman let go of her kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt very pointed,\u201d Pinski said.<\/p>\n

A month later in October when Covid-19 cases in Iowa started to spike again, Pinski was waiting in line outside a restaurant. Just like everyone else in line, she stood inside the box marked on the ground for social distancing. A man stood behind her took a step back to move further away from her, even that meant he had to be less than 6-ft from the person behind him.<\/p>\n

During the pandemic, the Asian community has confronted the dual-threat: the infection of the Covid-19 virus and the infliction of xenophobic assaults.<\/p>\n

In one of the whitest states in the country, the Chinese nationals and immigrants in Iowa are vulnerable to the increasing racial tension in their everyday life.<\/p>\n

Iowans of Asian or Pacific Islander descent make up 2.7% and 0.1% of Iowa’s population, according to the State Data Center<\/a>, with Des Moines, Ames and Iowa City having the largest numbers. That percentage is projected to grow to 4.4% by 2050. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pinkski says even at her school, she feels she stands out.
\n\u201cThis is why it’s very easy for us to become the target,\u201d she said. \u201cWe’re very much sometimes the only ones in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Iowa state\u2019s Covid-19 data<\/a>, more than 221,000 people have tested positive as of Dec.3. Among them, around 6,254 are Asian. The death rate for the Asian community in the state is 1.4%. <\/span><\/p>\n

The chart below shows the total positive cases among each race in Iowa. Among the minority races, Asian\u2019s number is the second-highest, following those who identify as black.<\/em><\/p>\n