{"id":861,"date":"2020-12-06T18:14:50","date_gmt":"2020-12-06T23:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyujournalismprojects.org\/gdjfall20\/?p=861"},"modified":"2020-12-06T18:14:50","modified_gmt":"2020-12-06T23:14:50","slug":"shellys-revised-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyujournalismprojects.org\/gdjfall20\/index.php\/2020\/12\/06\/shellys-revised-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Shelly’s revised story"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Rachel Li is a sophomore majoring in medical anthropology and music at University of Iowa. When the U.S. began reporting its first COVID-19 cases in February, Li attended a comedy event hosted at the Iowa Memorial Union. During the event, where an individual in the audience stood up and made a COVID-19 joke towards Asian Americans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was one of maybe three Asians there,\u201d Li said. \u201cThe host called him out, and I ended up approaching him to stand up for myself. He ended up leaving after he was confronted by both me and the host.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During this fall semester, Li was walking on the UI campus surrounded by white students, when a maskless woman put her hand up to her face when she approached Li and immediately dropped it as soon as she passed her.<\/span><\/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. <\/span><\/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. <\/span><\/p>\n

Shu Wan, a graduate student from University of Iowa, launched a project<\/a> called \u201cAn Oral History of Iowa’s Chinese Americans and Nationals Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic\u201d, which conducts oral history research in three major towns in Iowa, including Ames, Iowa City, and Des Moines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through the research, many Asian individuals shared their experiences during the ongoing pandemic. <\/span><\/p>\n

Caitlyn Valencia, a Filipino third-year and first-generation student, says she is frustrated with the racist language used to describe the virus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel welcome here, and it\u2019s not right because America is supposed to be built off of diversity,\u201d Valencia said. \u201cIt\u2019s sad that now privilege includes being looked at as a person instead of a scapegoat. Nowadays being Asian also means being viewed as a target for blame.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Iowans of Asian or Pacific Islander descent make up 2.7% and 0.1% of Iowa population, according to the State Data Center, 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

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 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