being incredibly excited to turn 18 in the summer of 2007 because that meant in fall of 2008 – I could vote in my first presidential election. I remembered the night Obama won. I remember calling my parents. I remember hugging my roommates. I remember the entire college campus cheering and I remember that I had never been prouder to be a Democrat.

When he won his reelection, the future was bright, change was upon us – the unemployment rate was down, Osama bin Laden was captured, gay marriage was legalized. I was lulled into a false sense of security.

And as the results of the 2016 election unfolded, I found myself in disbelief; but should I have been? No. The fact that hate, racism, misogyny, discrimination – all of it is rampant in these United States is not new. The cameras are new. Social media is new. This election only succeeded in pulling back the veil that for so long, so many had chosen to leave closed. Least we forget, this country was built on the backs of African slaves. Its railroads paved by Chinese immigrants. Today, a huge chunk of its blue collar work force is composed of its southern neighbor.

We are a nation who has lost our way. We have forgotten our roots. We have forgotten ourselves. We think we only have one shot every four years, but that’s not the truth. We have a chance to make a difference every single day. As a person of color, as a woman, and as an immigrant – I am incredibly fearful of the state of this nation, but I will not stand by and watch it burn. I will leave you with a quote from a single man, with a big dream that made one of the greatest impact on history: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

And this list of pro-women, pro-immigrant, pro-Earth, anti-bigotry organizations where you can donate (either your time or money or both).

All my love,
MB.

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Posts tagged with USA-election-2016

I REMEMBER