Lesson Plan Civil Rights and Asian Americans During Epidemics

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in January 2020, there were case after another where people of Asian descent were baselessly accused to be the cause of pandemic and were yelled at, spat on, attacked, or bodily harmed across the country.

This essay provides a brief history of civil rights violations against Asian Americans during epidemics and suggests an inquiry lesson to guide students to examine the past and contemporary cases of scapegoating Asian Americans for public health crises.