From prejudicial attitudes about racial, ethnic, and religious minority groups to verbal threats and physical assaults, the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated discrimination in myriad contexts. Commonly scapegoated as carriers, physical attacks and verbal harassment against Asian-Americans are now rampant. They are not the only minority community to experience the violent effects of social, political, and cultural othering.

Even prior to the pandemic, hate crimes involving physical violence-e.g., intimidation, assault, and homicide-had reached a 16-year high. Since the 2016 presidential elections, hate crimes against the Latinx community surged more than 50%. Further, anti-Black hate crimes make up approximately 47% of all race- or ethnicity-based hate crimes, though the minority community only comprises 13% of the population. Additionally, Muslim and Jewish Americans are also experiencing disproportionate rates of interpersonal violence.

This panel examines the manifestations of racial, ethnic, and religious bias while considering related policy proscriptions in light of the contemporary social, political, and legal landscape.