On November 9th, we woke up to the devastating news that a reality TV star, known for making racists, sexist and bigoted remarks was going to be the president of the United States. Hillary Clinton had lost the presidency, despite the overwhelming reassurance of the media. On that Wednesday morning, you woke up confused, shattered, shocked, perplexed. The Clinton administration would not erase all the wrongdoing that had been done to us over countless years, you were not naïve to think so. The segregation, the denial of opportunities, the mass shootings by the police, the illegal taking of our lands, fucking Iggy Azalea, none of that would disappear, you were not foolish to think that. But at least, you did not think we would go backwards. That a person openly supported by the KKK would be voted into office. That a person who is against women reproductive rights would be elected president of the United States. But alas, it happened.
Understandably after such a shock, anger follows, Sadness, despair. I myself cried for hours that Wednesday morning but I doubled up on the concealer and went to work. I am the only minority in my office. Any day of work missed is much more visible than my coworker's. We do not have the choice but to continue to better ourselves. To continue to prove that we have always been worthy, On Tuesday, we cast our vote. Overwhelmingly in favour of Hillary Clinton and it feels as if didn't matter. But we push through. People fought for our right to vote and have a say in elections. Maybe we do not sway the outcomes of elections as our White counterparts but we will in the future. And for that reason we must continue to vote, we must continue to cast our ballots. We must show our children that their voices matter, because they are our future. We need to de-normalise this new wave of passive racism and discrimination. We need to call out what is not right. Because even tough we are minorities now, they cannot avoid our presence. We are visible, and we are here to stay.
