Shaken by the election? Take five actions for freedom

Campaign promises made by President-Elect Donald Trump have raised serious constitutional concerns. As we have throughout our 96-year history, the ACLU remains a nonpartisan organization—but if you share these concerns, you can take action:

1. Know your rights. The ACLU of Massachusetts makes available a variety of online "Know Your Rights" guides for situations such as protests and demonstrations, police-civilian encounters and airport searches. Know your own rights, and share this information with others.

2. Encrypt your phone calls and text messages. Suddenly, many people want to know how to protect their digital privacy. If you use an Android or iOS smartphone, you can download free apps such as Signal, which—via your existing phone number—encrypt text messages and calls between you and other Signal users.

3. Support the ACLU by volunteering, donating and committing to stay involved. We appreciate and rely on all kinds of activism. Become a volunteer, donate or join to help us build the strength to hold President Trump accountable, and commit to contacting legislators when we call on you. Encourage friends to do so as well by signing up for ACLU emails.

4. Organize outside the ACLU. Find a grassroots group working on issues you care about and get involved. Start attending meetings and learn how you can support their work.

Report abuse. We already see troubling reports of harassment of Muslims, immigrants, people of colors and others, in President-Elect Trump's name. If you witness or experience bias-motivated threats, call a hotline set up by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey's office: 1-800-994-3228. You can also file a complaint online.

We will have much more to say in the weeks and months ahead. Working with other ACLU offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and across the country—as well as with other allies—we will defend civil liberties and rights as fiercely as we ever have. We need you with us.