MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett virtually met with members of the Hmong community on Thursday amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Barrett is urging Milwaukee residents to be cautious with the language surrounding COVID-19.
"In this time of heightening tensions, there are serious concerns in the Asian American community about scapegoating and becoming the targets of misplaced fear and anger," said Barrett.
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"I oppose any expressions of racism and xenophobia at all levels. No one should live in fear because of who they are, what they look like, or where they come from. This virus knows no borders. It’s wisest to use official names for this pandemic, especially if there is potential to do harm," said Barrett.
As of Friday afternoon, there were 420 reported cases of coronavirus in Milwaukee County. There have been a total of 8 deaths.
The meeting comes as many businesses and students of various universities came forward after being victim of hateful and xenophobic comments.
Earlier this week, UW-Madison saw an example of these racist comments when someone wrote hateful comments in chalk on the campus. The incident led to 25 complaints from students.
Additionally, Marathon County Sheriff Scott Parks addressed verbal and physical attacks of this nature in a Facebook post. He said their law enforcement agencies are working diligently to investigate incidents of this nature.