Forrest Gibbes, a black minister and U.S. army veteran, said he was saddened by President Donald Trump's recent Twitter post telling four congresswoman to go back to where they came from. The U.S., he said, still has a long way to go to overcome its racist history.

Since the remarks, Gibbes said he has spent time speaking to church members, family and friends about staying positive. They have to remain hopeful, he tells them, that there will be better days ahead.

"I'm making my voice heard in my inner circle," said Gibbes, who preaches at churches in Georgia and South Carolina. “The truth is this: America is a racist country and we never got racism taken care of.”

Trump sparked a national debate on racism earlier this month after he said a group of newly elected female lawmakers known as "the Squad" should "go back" to the countries they came from. To many of people of color, there was never a question that the president, who has often derided Latinos, black people, women and Muslims during his time in office, had made yet another racist and cruel remark. And for many, it marked the latest moment of anger and distress in a presidency that has often come across as hostile to people of color while still enjoying the support of roughly half the nation.

That hurt and pain shouldn't be minimized, experts says. Racism in the U.S. often has long-term psychological effects on people of color, including anxiety, depression, fear of going certain places, including work, low self-esteem and even suicide.

Instead of internalizing the nation's racist history and ongoing racial conflicts, marginalized communities should consider various forms of self-care to survive the trauma of racial attacks, including organizing against racial injustices and talking to like-minded loved ones and allies.

"It does really strike fear in people’s hearts and minds and leaves them disoriented as to what we do next," said Luis H. Zayas, professor of social work and psychiatry at the University of Texas at Austin. "But it's always good to be around people with whom you can commiserate with and get together with other people who are similarly targeted."

Zayas said oppressed racial or religious groups should form safe spaces where they can share information and comfort each other. Closed social media groups are being used by some people to stay connected, he said.

Monnica Williams, a psychology professor at the University of Connecticut, said people who feel targeted by racism can also seek therapy and take breaks from social media. Williams encouraged activism, such as organizing a diversity training at your place of employment.

“Don’t generalize and don’t take it personal,” said Williams, who has done research on race-related trauma. “Recognize the person who expressed a racist sentiment, the problem lies in them."

Since his tweets on July 14, Trump has denied that his message against the congresswomen was racist. Of the lawmakers, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib were all born in the U.S., while Rep. Ilhan Omar came as a refugee from Somalia more than 20 years ago and has been a U.S. citizen since 2000. Ocasio-Cortez is Latina, Pressley is black and Tlaib is Palestinian American.

Trump, however, said his message had nothing to do with ethnicity. In fact, he said the lawmakers themselves were a "racist group of troublemakers who are young, inexperienced, and not very smart."

The president's remarks were later echoed by an Illinois GOP group that posted a meme that included a racist taunt about the four women, as well as by the president's supporters at a rally in North Carolina, where crowds of mostly white people yelled “Send her back” after Trump described Omar’s opposition to the Israeli government. Critics, including many Democrats, have painted her remarks as anti-Semitic, while supporters have said she is being attacked because she is a black Muslim women.

Omar and others have warned about potential violence since the president posted his tweets. And Georgia state Rep. Erica Thomas said she's already seen evidence that Trump is empowering white Americans to be openly racist.

Thomas, who is nine months pregnant, said she was at a grocery store on June 19 when a white man verbally attacked her over the number of items she was purchasing in a grocery checkout line.

Thomas said the man told her to "go back" where she came from.

Thomas said she is channeling her anger by speaking out against the incident. Her tearful Facebook video post about the showdown went viral in recent days.

"Words cannot explain how it feels for someone to do something like that to you and get away with it," Thomas said. "It’s a low feeling. You can’t eat, you can’t sleep."

Shawn Utsey, a psychology professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies race-related stress, said Trump's rhetoric points to a larger, systemic problem in the U.S. The "go back" comments, Utsey said, date back to the mid-20th century when basic institutions were beginning to integrate.

"It's an idea predicated on the notion that there is a hierarchy in the human family and white people are at the top and (other races) are at the bottom," said Utsey, who is black.

Utsey said people of color should not have to cope with racism and white supremacy, but instead find ways to unite and resist it. "Get in where you fit in and do something," Utsey said.

Activists and civil rights leaders across the country say Trump's rhetoric is motivating them to prepare for the 2020 election. Two dozen Democratic candidates are competing in the primary to face Trump next year. The field includes a record number of six women seeking the nomination.

According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, 56 percent of Americans say Trump has made race relations worse since he became president. And just 15 percent said Trump has made progress in improving race relations.

Clarissa Brooks, a black community activist in Atlanta, said she plans to work with The Movement for Black Lives Electoral Justice Project, which strives to educate black voters and get them registered. Brooks, 23, said Trump's comments were no surprise because racism has plagued the nation for centuries.

“You don’t have to interact, you don’t have to respond," Brooks said. “But that upsetness is needed and necessary to get people moved to action."