By Bia Machain, March 24, 2026
Welcome to 2026. I hope you will enjoy the resurgence of 2016 politics, ideas and fears. I hope you feel, as a collective, we are moving backward and are more divisive than ever. Make sure you check your morals at the door. There is no space for them in the back.
While Vogue predicts the love for skinny jeans is reviving this year, I can tell you with confidence blatant racism is on the rise even faster.
Now, as an Afro-Latina, it’s never-ending, truly. Somehow this year, I feel the audacity has doubled and the shame has dwindled.
For the first time since I was a little girl, a white man looked me in my face and said, “You’re so well-spoken.”
It was not until I was walking away; I realized what he had really said.
King’s College London and Ipsos new global study found 31% Gen Z men believe women should “obey their husbands.” While this is a sexist belief, it reinforces the fact conservatism is on the rise, right alongside hate.
Conservatism and anti-blackness rhetoric are interlinked, and the seeds are being planted globally.
President Donald Trump shared a video to Truth Social in early February, depicting the Obamas as monkeys. When someone in power can hate so loudly, the subtle pieces of racism no longer seem so wild.
I wonder how many people called the Obamas well spoken.
Some people really do view this as a compliment, and if I was giving a speech on my soapbox or at a podium in my public speaking class, so would I. But that was not the case.
I, a communication student who got into Stanford, Berkeley and USC for graduate school, was called well-spoken because he did not expect me to be, all because of my race.
At first, I thought it was a one-off, a fluke, a misspoken moment that just hung in the air, but then I heard it again.
“Your answers were really articulate,” another white man said with shock in his voice to an acquaintance of mine, another Black woman.
“What an odd choice of words,” I said in response.
“I haven’t heard that since 2016,” my acquaintance said.
Then, we looked at one another with a familiar sense of understanding. It was the way we had lived, and sadly here it was again, continuing.
Hate crimes have doubled from 2015 to 2024, according to the FBI, with most of the crimes based on race or sexual orientation. Hate crimes are on the rise, and it all feels so heavy.
What am I supposed to do when the world expects me to be half the woman I am?
What do I do when my existence makes their blood boil? Sometimes I feel like the scared little girl I was in 2016, afraid those threats will become my reality. For some students, hate crimes have unfortunately become their reality.
On February 27, 2026, a Black student at University of California Irvine was run down by teenagers on e-bikes.
They called the student slurs and then proceeded to run the student off the road. This student sustained injuries and was bedridden.
The student has since returned home and no longer feels safe on campus according to UCI’s BSU. That is 2026, but it looks quite familiar.
As I watched the 2016 memes flood my Instagram feed, I remembered the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I saw President Donald Trump won the election.
I remember realizing no one cared about us. I remember sobbing in the arms of my family, thinking my abuela would be deported. I remember the way I fought racism, and it fought me back.
I remember getting called a “stupid Black bitch” in middle school. That is the 2016 I remember, and now it’s back.
So please enjoy your chokers, skinny jeans and ankle boots.
I will continue to fight for myself and my communities the way I always have.
One thing I can promise you though, I am a hell of a lot stronger, more well-spoken, and articulate this time around.
I am not the “stupid Black bitch” you all bullied; I am making history while you all rewrite it.
Feature graphic courtesy of Connor Lālea Hampton