In the early hours of November 9^th, the final ballots of the 2016 election were counted and the new president of the United States of America was decided: Donald John Trump.

Most of the world fell quiet in a hush of anger, fear, sadness, and shock. The man most thought would never get this far had crossed the finish line and brought with him a sense of unease for minorities in all categories—gender, race, and religion.

However, minorities—you are not the minority. Women, Blacks, Muslims, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, disabled…together you are bonded in number, ambition, and passion. You have the support of each other and the world that looks in upon our nation. You have fought battles for the history books and been harbingers of progress who will hand down precious rights and lessons to future generations.

No man will change that.

No single human being will strip down the framework you have built from the blood, sweat, and tears shed to create the foundation for a better nation.

The colors red and blue are nothing compared to the beautiful color of your skin you have so bravely defended.

The words of hate falling from a single man’s mouth are nothing compared to the words of love that fall out of yours as you support your peers in fighting homophobia, sexism, and racism.

The presidency of Trump is nothing compared to the larger battles we have faced and overcome.

This is a stumble in history, but it is not a fall. Do not let this red and blue divide leave us torn apart in hatred and fear. Instead, let it be the battle cry that leads us ever stronger into the war on hate. Let us unite to educate the public, celebrate diverse perspectives, fight dangerous stereotypes, and make the voiceless heard. Do not let this election stain your relationships with hatred, but embrace our nation’s tradition of democracy, and only think: we will do better.

Trump is the president we allow him to be; this is still a country of, by, and for the people, and shall not perish from this Earth.

This is not the end.