#ChinaMustexplain: Global Tweets, COVID-19, and Anti-Black Racism in China

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Public Health
• Migration Studies

Background:

• COVID-19 highlighted significant racial and ethnic disparities globally.
• The Black community in China, a recent migrant group, faced racism, exploitation, and stigmatization.
• During the pandemic, this community was targeted with racialized narratives, portraying them as diseased and a threat to the Han majority.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the use of Twitter in raising awareness about anti-Black racism in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To examine the historical context of African migration to China and the underlying Han racial ideologies fueling discrimination.
• To analyze how anti-Black racism was framed and contested by the global community online.

Main Methods:

• Historical overview of African migration to China.
• Analysis of racial ideologies contributing to anti-Black racism.
• Application of latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) for topic modeling on Twitter data to identify themes of racism and counter-narratives.

Main Results:

• Twitter served as a crucial platform for global mobilization against anti-Black racism in China.
• The study identified key themes related to discrimination and the challenges posed by the Black community.
• Latent Dirichlet allocation revealed patterns in how racism was discussed and contested online.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 pandemic amplified existing anti-Black racism in China.
• Online platforms like Twitter were instrumental in exposing and challenging discriminatory policies against Black migrants.
• The findings underscore the need to address systemic racism and its impact on vulnerable migrant communities globally.