Trump Victory Frightens & Emboldens Immigrants In Kensington
There was an eery silence on the streets during the gray, rainy morning after voters elected Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States.
Many people stayed up late last night, glued to the TV screen, anxiously awaiting the outcome. This morning, we heard from many neighbors — business owners, community activists, immigrants, parents, and politicians — with their unique perspectives on how a Trump presidency could affect our neighborhood, which is home to immigrants from all over the world.
While some neighbors seemed shell-shocked, others were empowered and mobilized by the election results. “This is the time to stand up together and fight this,” said Bobby Khan, a Muslim resident who works with deportation cases. “I’m an immigrant, a Muslim, and working class.” Last night, he comforted his 13-year-old daughter, who woke him up in the middle of the night, afraid for their future.
Though we spoke with many people, almost no one wanted to include their name or photo. But not everyone expressed fear over the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency.
I walked in on an interesting scene between an employee and shop owner on Church Avenue. The employee, an African American man who has worked in the neighborhood for more than 10 years, lamented over the rampant prejudice in rural America. ” — I’m happy about what happened,” piped in the shop owner, pointing to the TV. “I support Trump, we need jobs and change,” he said, clapping his hands over his head. “We’ll see,” the employee responded ruefully, looking at the ground.
An older woman I spoke with similarly celebrated Trump’s victory because she believes he’ll bring jobs to the country. She was born in Russia and has been living in Kensington for 16 years. An immigrant herself, she’s upset about what she sees as unfair advantages for newer immigrants. “Most of us here are immigrants. I work very hard since I came to this country, and never had welfare and food stamps,” she said.
“I’m an immigrant and my parents are immigrants [from Mexico],” said another woman on Church Avenue. “It worries you to think how people are seeing you. I have a seven-year-old, and a boy at school him that if Donald Trump wins the election he’s sending everyone back to where they came from,” she said. When I asked how neighbors could support each other, she said: “Your attitude is important — if you treat others with respect you’ll get treated with respect.”
One business owner whose parents immigrated from Mexico said he wasn’t surprised by the Trump victory. But he didn’t want to be named because, he said, no one can speak their mind anymore for fear of backlash.
We also reached out to leaders in Kensington’s Bangladeshi community. “I have no doubt in my mind that every American that I know loves this country,” said Mian, who teaches English. “Everybody expects the man in the oval office to be a leader for the whole planet. Whatever the values the individual has, the oval office prepares someone to serve something greater than just an individual life,” he said. Mian noted that he saw more Bangladeshi-American citizens in Kensington vote this year.
Community leaders worked hard to engage citizens throughout the election. At a watch party at the Windsor Terrace Library, from Council Member Brad Lander and Community Liason Ruby Abdul, kids talked openly about the electoral college, voting, and past candidates. “It’s a difficult system for kids to understand and kids think that their vote doesn’t count,” activist Hasiba Haq told us. “But your vote does count. There are many of people who have risked their lives to make sure women and people of color could vote.”
“It’s okay to be upset, and it’s okay to cry,” Haq said. “I was disappointed because this person emboldened people to be racist and condone sexual assault, was then able to attain the highest office,” said Haq, who spent today coming to terms with the results. “It revealed the privilege of being a white man. But he is only one person. As a woman, a Muslim, and a person of color, I’m more frightened that 50 percent of Americans believe this rhetoric. But we don’t have to put up with it, we can organize and spend our energies working with the people who are marginalized.”
City Council Member Brad Lander echoed Haq’s sentiment in a statement released today. “It was so hard to wake up and have to tell your kids the news that Donald Trump won. The disappointment in the eyes of our daughters was heartbreaking,” Lander writes. But after the period of mourning, he implored residents to take action, promising to “fight tooth and nail” over proposed policies like building a wall, banning Muslims, defunding Planned Parenthood, and eliminating Obamacare.
Neighbors also reminded us that the world is watching. Local activist Shahana Hanif watched the election from Bangladesh, where she is studying the Bangla language. She said that the headline in Tuesday’s paper read: Hillary or Trump, who will win? (translation from Banlga) “Weeks leading up to the election, I’ve had conversations about Trump/Hillary with relatives, friends, workers here, who know Trump as president will be devastating,” she writes. “I’m an organizer and I know I’ll keep organizing, even if it means we die in the process.”
Sounding a bit homesick, she added, “I was there to just knock on every door, see how folks are feeling and strategize ways to protect each other, just in case, though this is already the culture of Little Bangladesh.”
One neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, told us that she stayed up late into the night, watching the results with her elderly mother. “Trump has a big mouth,” she said, “but he won’t do any of the things that he says.” She echoed Obama’s statement today, projecting a positive message and faith in Americans. “We go forward with a presumption of good faith in our fellow citizens,” said President Obama in his speech from the White House today.
As a community-focused publication, we want to hear from you. What was your experience at the polling places yesterday? What have you been hearing and discussing with your neighbors today? If you have a story you’d like to share, please reach out to us at editor@ditmasparkcorner.com.