The pandemic’s effect on marginalized racial, ethnic, and religious communities was exacerbated by minority socioeconomic status, health conditions, living conditions, and related inequities. The public health crisis not only enhanced awareness about these social inequities, but it also revealed the lethal consequences of structural discrimination.

Thirty percent of coronavirus patients were African American, though the minority group comprises 13% of the US population. In a similar vein, the Navajo Nation had the highest per capita rate of infections in the US. Latinos constitute 18% of the US population but they accounted for 33% of all coronavirus cases. Moreover, Black, Hispanic, and Native American children make up 78% of all coronavirus youth fatalities. According to research, this is largely because racial and ethnic minorities are unable to shelter at home, live with preexisting conditions, and lacked access to healthcare for treatment.

This panel explores these vast inequalities while contemplating equitable solutions to eliminating structural barriers to equality for racial and ethnic minorities.