Interrupting Privilege is Different in the Year 2020

By Meshell Sturgis

National, racial, and class privileges are illuminated in this new age of social distancing and economic downturn. Early this year, the slogan “viruses don’t discriminate, and neither should we” circulated through much of UW’s messaging. The campus, which has a 22.5% Asian and 15.5% international undergraduate population, deployed such rhetoric as a supposed shield against the uptick of xenophobia and hate crimes since the coronavirus spread. Seattle’s International District is an already growingly hostile place that has been particularly hard hit with White supremacist vitriol. Despite the scientific race-neutral spread of COVID-19, it has become increasingly clear that humans and their systems do discriminate. Effects such as racial battle fatigue and weathering, insufficient healthcare, and access to resources, as well as higher rates of incarceration, homelessness, and pre-existing conditions have led to disproportionate infection rates amongst people of color during this public health crisis, especially the Black community.

This essay was produced as part of the Interrupting Privilege seminar series. This year, the University of Washington's Center for Communication, Difference and Equity partnered with NAAM to host the series on site at NAAM. Interrupting Privilege brings together students and community members from across Seattle for intergenerational conversations about race, racism and its intersections. The program is facilitated by ACLS/Mellon Scholars & Society Fellow in Residence, Ralina L. Joseph.