This year’s election has exacerbated racism all through Los Angeles, causing tension throughout the county and even sparking violence in some cases, “human rights and lives are at stake because of the acts our former president will take if he wins once again.” 

The election is causing tension between both political parties, even more so now because Democrats have seen what their presidential candidate is capable of and will try to forgive that from happening. On the other hand, the Republican party is getting agitated by the other side because they agree with the President’s ideas and actions. 

When going for her normal evening run in Manthan Beach California, Ana Diaz, a young Hispanic female from Inglewood, California, thought she was going to see the usual squirrel and sunflowers through the running path. She did see those things in fact but it was far from usual and closer to a racially disturbing encounter. 

“Around the first week of October, I was on a run and I was harassed by a woman who proceeded to shout ‘Trump 2020, go back to your country’’ keep in mind, I am a brown woman who is prideful to be native. I had a pride face mask on,” said Ana Diaz. “By saying racist things himself in front of America. So if Americans see that their leader is racist they are going to think it’s okay to proceed.” 

Most of the racial harassment that has been reported in the past year, is mostly involving white supremacists, who are supporting their president’s work. According to an article by Vanessa Williamson and Isabelle Gelfand called “Trump and Racism” it states, “Donald Trump’s support in the 2016 campaign was clearly driven by racism, sexism, and xenophobia. President Trump’s racist rhetoric has played in encouraging violence in America”. This is important because it shows that things our president has said not only recently during the election but for years have been proven to cause not only racism but acts of racial violence. 

Brian Reyes is a young Latino Honor Roll student who enjoys furthering his fitness. He often goes to work out at a park. Little did he know, on October 7 his workout was going to be disrupted by racially-driven taunts from a white supremacist. 

“I was working out in Culver City and this woman approached me and proceeded to shout at me, ‘Get out of here, America doesn’t want you’. I was born in America by the way and I’m an honor student, so for her to come at me like that was very disturbing” said Brian Reyes. “It is making political parties clash in public and making certain parties feel threatened so they are outraged and want to harass others to make the other party feel intimidated and fall back.”

Not only has President Trump said things in front of the press and during interviews that have sparked racism. Better yet, he has performed many actions that have contributed to others to release racism in our communities. The recent political debates between Biden and Trump have sparked racial tension. His racial remarks about Hispanic immigrants and the laws he will force against immigrants has made many exasperated. According to an article by Julio Ricardo called “ Trump and Biden’s debate over kids in cages underscores the stark choice facing Americans”, it states, “Trump administration had yet to reunify 545 migrant children with their parents almost two years after a “zero tolerance” policy led to the deliberate separation of thousands of children who had crossed the border with their parents or guardians a practice some labeled as torture, Biden emotionally labeled the practice of family separations”. 

When Rosie Navarro, an Inglewood resident, decided to take her baby niece to go get some frozen yogurt in Torrance, California, for being a good student and thought it was going to be an evening of laughter and joy. Little did she know, she was going to endure a political hatred act and her niece would have left that frozen yogurt shop traumatized. 

“I was at Yogurtland in Torrance with my niece and this man with a Trump flag on his truck saw that I had a Biden 2020 sticker on my car, he proceeded to follow us to our car while shouting ‘Trump 2020’ aggressively and called me the B-word he even made my niece cry,” said Navarro. “It has everyone stressed and worked up but that is no justification for the act that was performed on that day, but both candidates have made it clear that they have strong ideas and beliefs.” 

This year’s presidency has been ethical and has had a lot of sides when speaking politics, but if one thing is certain both political parties, will both follow what their leader says. In this case Donald J. Trump, so if he makes a racist remark others will think it’s fine to proceed as well. According to an article by Elizabeth F. Cohen that’s called “Critical race theory and the 2020 US election” it states “Donald Trump announced his presidency with a xenophobic rant. He began by vilifying China, and then, in that startling campaign introduction, famously said: ‘When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists”. This is important because it shows the racial tension the political party and election bring to our country. 

“They each stand in the lead of others. The president and his opponent lead the two different parties so if one of them does or says something then that party will most likely do the same”, states Brian Reyes.