SAN ANTONIO — A UTSA political science professor is behind a new book set to go to press in a matter of days. It takes a deeper look at the color of the coronavirus.
Sharon Navarro is the co-author of “The Color of COVID 19: The Racial Inequality of Marginalized Communities,” which is being published by Routledge. The project has been months in the making since the pandemic began.
Navarro said it was with the help of the best and brightest scholars nationwide and other contributors that the book became a reality. They compiled 12 months' worth of data and other information to highlight the complex issue of race and the coronavirus.
“We have done a disservice to communities of color. We have allowed this pandemic to diffuse us rather than unite us, and it has highlighted the inequities that have to be addressed that cannot continue,” she said. “I think we offer a new perspective on how to look and, perhaps, address the pandemic.”
The professor said the book will cover the history of distrust in the healthcare system and how factors like social media and even the language by the government impacted minorities. Navarro said the poorest communities across the country, including areas along the Texas-Mexico border, are also highlighted in the book.
“How COVID has exactly affected Latinos, Blacks and Asians across the country. In various sectors from education, essential workers, stay-at-home mothers,” she explained. “It gives a very nice comparison of very full views of just how much and how in-depth this pandemic has affected these marginalized communities and further marginalized them.”
Navarro said the book will also examine COVID-19's effects on other societies.
“We even have philosophers that theorize about the morality of sharing a COVID vaccine and what that means for us as a country, our democracy and what responsibility we have to minimize the effects of COVID on some of the most poorest countries,” explained Navarro.
If you are interested in checking out the book, it will be available soon. Navarro said it should be available on Amazon and in local book stores in a few months.