This election meant a great deal to me. As a woman, I was empowered and excited by the prospect of Hilary Clinton breaking the long-standing, sexist and misogynistic barrier between women and the American presidency. 

As  an African American, I was frightened by Trump’s unabashed racism and ignorance. As an activist for Black, LGBTQIA+, Muslim, Mexican, Latino, Native American, disabled, and all other marginalized communities, I was outraged by the attacking, dehumanizing and aggressive platform of the Trump campaign. 

I had a vested interest in the outcome of this election. Not just because I am an American citizen, but because I am a woman of color. 

My work and my lived experience informs me of the heartbreaking realities that many People Of Color (POC) and marginalized communities face, and because of the knowledge of my and others’ experiences, I am incredibly pained and saddened by the outcome of this election. 

Donald Trump was elected into office solely because of the overwhelming support of white voters. Across every category, white voters favored Trump. 

He won both white college-educated and non-college educated voters, and in every age category (18-29, 30-44, 45-64, 65+), Trump swept the white vote. While 74 percent of non-white voters supported Clinton, Trump took only 21 percent of the non-white vote according to CNN exit polls. 

Even when looking at gender, Trump won the majority (53 percent) of white women’s vote. Van Jones said it best, “This is a white-lash against a changing country.” It is a response, a mobilization, against the communities historically othered by white America. 

Never in my lifetime have I seen such blatant support of such hatred, misogyny, homophobia, islamophobia, xenophobia, bigotry, sexism and racism. 

The Trump campaign employed the same tactics utilized by the white Civil War elite to trick low-income white communities into not only fighting for but also dying to protect white elitist interest. 

Trump is not the voice of the working white person. He has never been poor. He has never been working class, and I promise that his elitist perspective prevents him from truly caring about the average white, blue-collar individual. 

He has simply used the age-old, propagandized hatred of people of color, immigrants, non-Christian and non-gender/sex conforming individuals to win this election. 

The white voters who supported Trump did so not for what he will do for their community, but for what he will do against communities unlike them. 

As a black woman, today can only be viewed as a denial of my and other marginalized people’s experience and existence. It is a stance in favor of hatred. A stance in favor of misogyny. A stance in favor of racism. A stance against me. 

I used to be so sure of my place in America’s future. I used to view institutionalized oppression as hidden hate and was determined to finish the work my ancestors started over 150 years ago. 

I knew we had a long way to go, but I consoled myself in the fact that most Americans were against blatant racism, even if they were accepting of covert racism. 

Today, I have been left out of America’s future. Today, I recognize how little progress we’ve truly made. I recognize the fact that me and people like me are still not valued as citizens in this country. 

That minorities are still fighting to be viewed as American citizens. That we are still fighting against being considered 3/5 human.  

Trump was elected President of the United States of America, and he won by dehumanizing, excluding, insulting, and attacking marginalized communities. 

This happened. In 2016, it happened. After Trump was declared the winner, Hilary Clinton gracefully conceded. 

In her speech, she said “I’m sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the visions we hold… This is painful, and it will be for a long time, but our campaign was never about one person or one election, it was about the country we love.”  

I am sorry that Clinton did not win, but even more so, I am sorry that Trump won.  When Trump is confirmed into office, we are not confirming a better, brighter future. 

We are confirming a nation that supports white supremacy. We are confirming a reinstitution of hate and exclusion. 

We are reversing so many ideological strides and are embracing a future where ignorance, othering, victimizing, dehumanizing and belittling people is not only accepted but also supported.