Navigating Racist Triggers: The Unsettling Impact of Current Events on the Immigrant Experience
As Donald Trump continues to fuel white nationalism with his recent tirade against four members of Congress who are all women of color, the essence of what it means to be American is in a seismic shift. The values of the constitution, the leadership elected to uphold it, and the American people are in direct conflict and the threat to already vulnerable communities like mine is real. The question that keeps getting louder in my ears is: Am I safe?
As much as we are a nation of immigrants, nativism [born from the original immigrants], is inextricably part of our history. So while there’s nothing new about Trump’s sentiments of an ‘Us versus Them’ dynamic, what is different is the overt speech he’s using to incite racist, anti-immigrant, and mob-like rallying. Using the presidency as a platform to gaslight tensions that have been intensifying in recent years is not only irresponsible but it’s dangerous. Hearing the president’s steady drumbeat of comments validating hate is stirring a deeply seeded reminder that I – like many others - have to be prepared to defend my nationality, my culture, and even my humanity. And before I hear another suggestion that we challenge these threats at the ballot box in 2020, I want to know what we can do now.
The growing crisis at the border and the threats of raids in target cities have triggered the paralyzing fears of my childhood. The panic of growing up in a home of mostly immigrants is a defining part of my identity and the imminent threats we faced still haunt me today. Hearing the clamoring for a wall and the denials of what is happening the in the detention centers on one side and watching the trauma-filled family reunions and testimonials of immigrants at the border on the other, pinches a nerve that immediately flashes me back in time. Throughout the ‘90s – in the shadow of our nation’s capital – I grew up in a house where nearly a dozen immigrants could have been targeted on any given day.
Born to Latin American immigrants, and raised among refugees, I was U.S. citizen and should’ve felt safe. Instead I lived in fear of the same threats I see children and families facing today. Most of my relatives came through networks of coyotes who CONTINUE READING: Navigating Racist Triggers: The Unsettling Impact of Current Events on the Immigrant Experience | Schott Foundation for Public Education
