On the Tuesday, November 8^th, I along with many across the nation watched as Donald J. Trump was voted as the nation’s 45^th president. I remember actually turning the television off before the final poll numbers came in and kneeling down to pray for America, and what was to come. From the beginning of his campaign, Trump has been known for his lewd remarks and comments, some which show no respect for those in black community.

A young woman that I polled says she remembers feeling a “deep empty feeling,” like everything that we have been working towards was basically thrown out and we were going to have to start from scratch again. She felt that the fact that someone so impulsive, so disrespectful, and so rude now had been granted access to the highest position of power in America and that there would be the potential for an outside attack, because not only did he disrespect Americans during his campaign, but those in foreign countries as well.

Speaking from experience, I can remember the fear that I felt knowing that there was actually a possibility that Trump would become president. Fear for how far America as a country has failed to come. Fear for what people who supported Trump expected to come. From the beginning his campaign he focused on “Making America Great Again”, and I along with other millennials may have found myself asking, “again”? After surveying about 25 peers on how they feel about Trump as president, one statement seemed to keep reoccurring: “not my 45^th.”

That alone shows the black millennial reaction to the nation’s 45^th president, just as many Caucasians refused to acknowledge Barack Obama as the nation’s 44^th president back when he was voted into office in 2008. The problem this time is different. One colleague admits to feeling as if she was mourning the day after the 2016 election. I can recall walking into work feeling defeated, depleted and more than anything, devastated that we would go from an Obama administration filled with class to a Trump administration that was been filled with scandal, deceit, and lies way before the ballots were cast.

Trump’s disrespect for those such as John Lewis, who’ve been pillars within the black community, doesn’t sit well with millennials and they’ve taken to platforms such as Twitter to display their disapproval. The hashtag #notmy45th tends to trend whenever he does something that rubs black millennials the wrong way, which is far too often than not

However, black millennials have taken the 2016 election with a grain of salt and are becoming more educated on policies, rights, and what we as American people must do in order to fight back against an administration that seems to be fighting against us. We are fighting back with wit and are playing smart when dealing with Trump supporters.  Thus far, Trump has not done anything to show most black millennials why they should support him, and with the White House slowly falling apart with a scandal every other week, we could gloat to the world with an “I told you so;” however, I pray that America gets it together and doesn’t prove to the world that it is indeed true that “once you go black you can’t go back.”

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