In what is now considered the greatest political upset in the history of the United States, Donald Trump has won the presidency. Thousands have expressed their shock and disgust with the 2016 Presidential Election results, where the rest have either celebrated, or refused to speak on it. As Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton conceded, she congratulated Trump for achieving a feat that no one believed was possible. Now with the election finally out of the way, the results have proved something some have already known: Post-Racial America has never existed.

Now what exactly is ‘Post-Racial America’? The term itself denotes to a period or society where racial prejudice and discrimination no longer exists. The idea mainly came about around the time President Barack Obama was first elected to office in 2008. With the historical election of the first black president, many had believed that America had entered a post-racial society, with a glimpse of hope for the future. Almost a decade later, the idea is hardly believable. Considering the increased alarming reports of police brutality against men and women of color, to cases in where the logical response to said crimes were completely ignored (see: Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland and Eric Garner).

According to a 2014 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, a staggering amount of Americans believed that race was not a factor in the court decisions regarding these crimes. Out of the 1,507 who were polled, roughly 48 percent said race was “not a factor at all” in the case of Michael Brown. Thirty-nine percent also reached the same conclusion in the grand-jury decision of Eric Garner. On the other hand, 43 and 44 percent, respectively believed that race was indeed a factor in these cases. The divide was wider amongst racial lines with 60 percent of the white pollers saying that race was not a factor in Brown’s case, and 48 percent saying the same for Garner’s. Whereas 80 and 81 percent of black pollers, respectively, thought otherwise.

The term “post-racial” itself is hardly ever used in most conversation aside from news anchors conveying the subject to the masses. In most instances, activists have even pointed out the fact that instead of being “post-racial”, America has become “post-racist”. Taking recent events into account, how can one say that post-racism exists, when the displays of racism -- both blatant and subtle, are more widespread than ever? Even on the internet, thousands upon thousands of hate groups live and thrive and have done so for years. It’s become so common, that to some extent the American public has become desensitized to these issues. Especially when there are people who try to “sweep it under the rug”. This has been a major issue in that even pre-dates the founding of this country.

In a poll taken in November 2008 just after President Obama won the election, over 70 percent of Americans believed that race relations would improve under the Obama Administration. Eight years and two terms later, the unfortunate reality is that the opposite is true. With Obama’s last few weeks in the White House approaching, the race tension in America is so high, in some cases it’s been compared to that of the 1960s. Thanks to the usage of both cell phones and social media, it’s impossible to ignore these incidents of police brutality and harassment.

In the days that followed the announcement of President-Elect Donald Trump, there have been numerous displays of racism all over the country. From black women being publicly harassed because of their skin color, to muslim women getting their hijabs forcibly removed from their heads by those who feel they have a right to do so, to even swastikas spray painted on walls for public view. There has also been an outcry of hundreds who wish to flee to Canada, which is interesting because the reaction itself is hypocritical. Thousands flee to America to do the same exact thing, but is almost always criticized. It is also notable that the United States government has not been under complete-Republican control since the inauguration of President Herbert Hoover in 1928. It should also be noted that the stock market crashed just one year later, in 1929. With the inauguration less than two months away, you can almost get an idea of what’s to come within the next four years. While the future of America remains a gloomy, pessimistic mystery, one can only wonder what is next to come.