‘Change happens. You won’t always like the people who are in power.’

Akira Quinn is a 22-year-old junior who attends UW-Milwaukee. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies, with a concentration in Journalism. Her experience in the aftermath of the election was a unique one.

Lasierra Flowers: Since the elections, how are you now?

Akira Quinn: So far, I’m doing great. I think I am sane- now. Just with the election and everything, I’ve been trying to live in the moment more.

Flowers: The aftermath of the election was a lot, and everyone had their own unique experience. Some felt deep emotions about it, and some didn’t. What was your experience in the aftermath of the election?

Quinn: For me, I had more of a personal approach to it because as a black woman, seeing another black woman in that position inspired me, and I looked up to that. It was sad to know that she didn’t win, and it felt like your favorite character in a show died. But I realized everything happens for a reason, and our time will come when it may be better, or it may not; we just have to give it a chance, and even though we lose, good things will happen.

Flowers: What did the environment around you feel around you?

Quinn: It was very tense. The next morning, I can feel energy shifting a little bit. It was very quiet, I noticed it was very silent, and I didn’t understand if it was a good thing or a bad thing, I just know it was silent the next day, which I thought was interesting cause people’s thoughts were not as out there as it was compared to other elections. In other elections, people spoke out more and expressed being sad. This one was more silent.

Flowers: After the election, was there any point where you questioned your safety?

Quinn: I didn’t question my safety, cause growing up as a black woman, you always think about your safety in general, so for me personally, I didn’t question my safety as much as I did before. Normally, I’m supposed to be aware and observant because of how I grew up. This didn’t alter too much; it didn’t go up or down. I just knew that hey, it happened, and we gotta keep moving.

Flowers: Who did you think would be affected the most by the choice of Trump being elected?

Quinn: Probably the immigrants. People of the Hispanic culture, I feel like that is a big issue right now, even more than black people, because we go through our things too, but it’s not like how the Hispanics are getting more damage because of the election, which is very sad. Our higher authority has put out comments based on his (Trump’s) dislike for immigrants coming into the country, so it’s not a private thing; it’s public, and it’s out there on social media. It’s really affecting them, and my heart goes out to the people dealing with that and trying to figure out where they belong and where they could go. It is pretty tough.

Flowers: There has always been a huge divide between all the races in America, especially with white people versus people of color, but nobody talks about Hispanics and Black people being divided. How do you think the election choice affected that divide?

Quinn: This election showed how similar we are in some ways because African Americans have always been pushed to the side outwardly to the people in America, and Hispanics have dealt with that but not as bad or outwards as African Americans. Now the focus is on Hispanics more than anyone, so they are feeling what we’ve been feeling for years, which shows how similar we are, us being two different cultures being treated the same way. Especially on social media, it’s publicized everywhere (talking about the hate Hispanics are receiving).

Flowers: There have been a lot of changes to a lot of rules, and it made the norms not normal. How do you feel about the changes he has made?

Quinn: I can disagree with the decisions he makes as well as agree with some of them that he’s made. It’s hard to determine how I feel at the moment because we are in the midst of it, but some of his decisions have affected a lot of people, and it’s sad. He shouldn’t be doing that, but I am trying to live in the moment and see what will happen next because we can’t stop it, so we have to see where it goes and continue to have our opinions on it and protest, and hopefully, things will start to change.

Flowers: As a young black college student, what is your overall opinion on Trump being elected to America?

Quinn: Changes happen. You won’t always like the people who are in power; sometimes, you do. There are different opinions and perspectives, but all that matters is that we keep going and stay strong no matter what.