I remember the day after Donald Trump won the presidency.

I walked into a quiet classroom with several brown faces visibly upset. I knew I had to say something. "I know many of you are feeling unsafe. I promise you that, when you are in my classroom, I will do everything I can to keep you safe."

I am not a big person. I know I am just another person of color who was feeling as unsafe as they were. But these words meant the world to my students. As a teacher I know that students look to me for guidance, not because of my physical attributes, but because of what I stand for for them. Someone with authority. Someone with knowledge. Someone with wisdom.

At the of the class, Maria (not her real name) got up. She stands several inches shorter than me. She hugged me and said "Thank you. That made me feel so much better."

People of color knew what the Trump election meant: HARM. Many whites dismissed it. They told me to get "real. This is America." Yes, this is America with its long history of racial violence. Genocides of Native peoples. But white America has hushed it up. Lynchings of black and brown people. Yes, brown people. White America had buried it as the past. Internization of yellow people. White America has simply forgotten it. Restitution of some thousand dollars and quickly forgotten. But we, the people of color, have the experiences to tell you that the political climate can produce the most horrible atrocities against us. We knew what to expect.

People of color have been throwing their bodies in front of cars, buses, bullets, batons for justice.

Dear white people. We can't do this alone. Join us. It is time to act. Nazis are marching in the streets of Charlottesville, chanting Nazi slogans, wearing Nazi emblems, quoting Hitler. They came with their militias ready to start a war. Isn't this enough? Your greatgrandfathers, your grandfathers, your fathers gave their lives to fight the Nazis. If they could see what's happening, they would weep.

We have to this together. Because this is America. We are fighting for our land. Our soul. Our future.