Marginalized community members find comfort and support post-election

Vivi Santana, a Latina first-year majoring in biology, stumbled over her words through tears.

“My parents could get deported,” she said.

Santana’s father was unable to obtain an elementary school education, but he started his own business in America. Both of Santana’s parents are undocumented immigrants who have worked tirelessly to secure a better life for her and her younger sister while growing up in North Carolina.

On Nov. 8, Santana’s life in the U.S. began to feel unpredictable as Donald Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States.

“As more and more of the votes started to come in, I started to feel depressed about it,” Ahmad Tejan-Sie, a junior Muslim student, said.

“Initially, I was so sure Hillary would win. I was so sure the country would react against Trump’s bigotry, racism and all the horrible things he said.”

Since the election, tension has increased, especially for marginalized communities.

“Being a Latina is sort of scary, but it is also disappointing to know that half of the country supports someone who undermines you just because of your color,” Santana said.

Most of Tejan-Sie’s experiences with Islamophobia occurred while he was with his mother. One day, while Tejan-Sie’s mother and sister wore their hijab while quietly walking along the street, a woman yelled “ISIS.”

“Throughout my childhood, my mom had to always be ready to confront rude people who treat her in a certain way. You can tell by the way they look at you or the way their tone of voice changes or that hint of disgust,” Tejan-Sie said.

Though many express worry and disbelief over the election, others look at Trump’s presidency from a different perspective for the future state of minority communities.

Alexis Williams, an African-American senior majoring in African, African American and diaspora studies, said she was a little happy about the election.

“Not that I voted for Donald Trump, but I was happy to see so many people angered and beginning to think about politics differently,” she said. “If Hillary would have won, it would have felt like a victory for people, but it would have been a false victory.”

As separation continues to increase, many communities at UNC stress the importance of integration with organizations here on campus.

“Trust yourself and know that you are still a valuable person no matter who is in power or what that person is saying,” said senior Anna Taylor, who serves as the co-chairperson of Project Dinah. “Know that there are communities of people, especially on this campus, who want to help you, make you feel safe and empower you.”

Along with division comes the fear of the future.

“A lot of people are afraid of white supremacists, but I don’t feel like there is anything to fear once you educate yourself on what white supremacy is and how it actually operates,” Williams said.

She said people should still be aware of systemic oppression.

“If someone calling you a ‘nigger’ or discriminating against you and offends you, I’m sorry, but that isn’t powerful enough to hold you in the position you are in. There is something larger at play that is keeping us oppressed,” she said.

To combat this, Williams suggests people arm themselves with education and, more importantly, spirituality.

“I had to call my mom, and she was extremely calm about it, I think for my sake,” Santana said. “She told me, ‘Ten fe en Dios’ which means ‘Have faith in God’. Just have faith in him and things will be all right. I think that’s what’s keeping me going.”

Tejan-Sie also emphasized faith.

“For Muslims, we have several passages in our book, the Quran. It says, ‘Indeed with difficulty comes ease, with difficulty comes ease,’” he said. “We have been promised for that all the trials we will go through, all the prejudice, all the torment, all the discrimination, eventually we will reach a point through our own efforts where we hopefully will no longer have to endure this kind of treatment.”

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