After a deeply divisive presidential campaign by President-elect Donald Trump, unease looms in the country. His campaign and the protests we’re seeing in its aftermath signal that it is time to address the racial divides that laid the groundwork for Trump’s win.

A country divided

While there is disappointment after every presidential election by the losing party, this year is different. Disappointment has taken a back seat to fear.

People are scared because Trump rode a wave of racist rhetoric right into the White House, according to a Nov. 15 CNN article. He negatively characterized several groups: All Muslims must be terrorists. All Mexicans must be rapists. All black people must be living in poverty. All women who challenge him must be ugly or menopausal, according to statements he made at his rallies.

“I pay a lot of attention to what people say, because what they say is kind of a window, generally, into what it is that their actions will follow with,” said William McCoy, director of NIU’s BELIEF program. “Given some of the things that were stated, there is a reason for real concern by many in our country.”

Painting with his broad, bigoted brushstrokes helped Trump garner support from various white nationalist groups including the Ku Klux Klan, according to a Nov. 2 Washington Post article.

The fact that the KKK is now celebrating his election win as a victory for white nationalism speaks volumes as to why there is such widespread fear in our nation from the people who did not vote for Trump.

“As a double minority myself, I can sympathize with the many concerns that women and minorities feel about a Trump presidency, including the feeling of genuine fear,” said SA Senate Speaker Christine Wang. “I think a huge lesson we learned from this election is that silence is dangerous. It is fatal to democracy.”

Trump’s win seems to have encouraged racists to take their bigotry public. Since his win, there have been 437 reports and counting, of hate crimes and harassment toward various minority groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website.

The harassment we’re now seeing came as a surprise to Trump, according to a Nov. 14 interview with 60 Minutes.

“I am very surprised to hear that. I hate to hear that, I mean I hate to hear that,” Trump said.

I found his surprise to be laughable. Trump used racist rhetoric as a political strategy. Over the course of his campaign, he poured gasoline on the embers of decades-old racism and watched the flames grow. Yet suddenly, he claims to be confused as to how this fire started.

“I think we have to look at how we got here,” said chief diversity officer Dr. Vernese Edghill-Walden. “And try to reconcile some of that and then figure out a way forward. But we can’t figure out a way forward if we’re not acknowledging what exactly is the problem.”

For any doubters, this election proved that racism and misogyny in this country are alive and well. Some Trump supporters might take offense to that statement. While not all Trump supporters are racists, they all voted for a man praised by the American Nazi Party, according to a Nov. 2 Washington Post article. Let that realization sink in.

The path forward

Protests have engulfed the nation in various cities since Election Day. Many of these protesters vow to continue their anti-Trump demonstrations, according to a Nov. 16 Washington Post article.

“Trump tapped into some decades and even centuries-old feelings in America that have never truly been dealt with…much of it is with racism,” McCoy said.

He said for healing to begin, a lasting healing, we need to start dealing with negative stereotypes and discrimination that persist in the country.

I understand there is widespread anger and fear across the country. I feel it too. But I encourage people to channel those feelings productively. Don’t incite violence, don’t succumb to hateful rhetoric.

“To those who are afraid of what might happen to them because of the color of their skin, the religion they follow, the person they love, or their gender identity—talk about it. Engage people in discussion,” Wang said.

It is only through these discussions that we can finally address the divisions that got us here. Use your voices to start dialogues about systemic changes we need to make in hopes of permanently ending the racial divisions that continue to plague our nation.