People of color are embracing self-care, activism after Trump's latest racist tweets
President Donald Trump's recent Twitter post telling four congresswoman to go back to where they came from. The U.S., he said, still has a long way to go to overcome its racist history.
Since the remarks, Gibbes said he has spent time speaking to church members, family and friends about staying positive. They have to remain hopeful, he tells them, that there will be better days ahead.
"I'm making my voice heard in my inner circle," said Gibbes, who preaches at churches in Georgia and South Carolina. The truth is this: America is a racist country and we never got racism taken care of.
Trump sparked a national debate on racism earlier this month after he said a group of newly elected female lawmakers known as "the Squad" should "go back" to the countries they came from. To many of people of color, there was never a question that the president, who has often derided Latinos, black people, women and Muslims during his time in office, had made yet another racist and cruel remark. And for many, it marked the latest moment of anger and distress in a presidency that has often come across as hostile to people of color while still enjoying the support of roughly half the nation.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/26/trump-tweets-trigger-anger-anxiety-many-people-color-us/1804518001/
"It does really strike fear in peoples hearts and minds and leaves them disoriented as to what we do next," said Luis H. Zayas, professor of social work and psychiatry at the University of Texas at Austin. "But it's always good to be around people with whom you can commiserate with and get together with other people who are similarly targeted."
Zayas said oppressed racial or religious groups should form safe spaces where they can share information and comfort each other. Closed social media groups are being used by some people to stay connected, he said.