Thank you but no thank you for your safety pin.

To all my "white" friends and colleagues who feel distraught over the results of the election. For all who are now scared for their friends who may fall victim to the prejudice of this new administration. Put your guilt and fear, your realization that this means that our country is not as post racial as you thought it was on November 7th, to use. Thank you for your support but the goal is not for you to admit wrongdoing or to recognize the reality that is being "other" in 2016 America. While it is a human step, it is the first step.

The goal is to look at me and see me as equal not less than. When you look at me and see "black woman" and suddenly feel sorry for me because of who is in the White House, that is problematic because you have to admit that my fate is not my own - that my place in this nation is determined by the Commander and Chief because I don't look like you. The goal rather is to see me as a person; not a statistic, not a fixed identify that you have created stereotypes for, but as a person who deserves to be able to vote, receive an education, apply for any job, and live in any part of the country without fear. Without having to anticipate how I may be treated because of nothing more than how I look. So keep working. Recognizing there is a problem is the first step.

People keep asking me, how do I feel safe now that Trump was elected? How can I send my son to school with the hate crimes that are igniting around America in the past week? To them I say, welcome to being a [insert anything other than "white male" here] in America but less pessimistically and upon reflection I answer with much more grace.

I come from Cherokee, Mohawk, German, Irish and whatever-nations- of- Africa-my-ancestors-were-taken-from-before-being-sold-in-the-United-States ancestry. As diverse as my family tree is, they all have one horrible similarity. Each group has experienced persecution, genocide, discrimination and annihilation on this same soil. It is their blood that pumps through my veins and that of my son's. They push me through doors that were previously shut in their face. I draw on their strength and perseverance. I take their dreams of acceptance and equality and ask for more. That's what gives me unwavering patience. That is what gives me hope. That is what propels me forward, never back. #keepfighting #wearenotgoinganywhere #standtogether #weareequal #wedeservetobeequal