Trump played on prejudice and bias during his campaign, but he did not create them. America has a long history of institutional racism that has kept black, Latinx, Asian, and Native Americans from accessing the same opportunities as many white Americans. By nearly every economic measure, including income, educational outcomes, housing, there is evidence that government institutions underserve people of color. We must educate ourselves about the source of these issues or we have no hope of overcoming them.

Donald Trump kept his pledge to nominate anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court, raising the likelihood that state-imposed restrictions will be upheld and paving the way for attacks on Roe v. Wade. His Vice-President and Secretary of Health and Human Services hold some of the most extreme anti-abortion and anti-contraception views ever seen in the White House. Trump also attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and though he failed, he has vowed to keep trying. This could leave 55 million women without access to preventative services including birth control, STI screenings, mammograms, and Pap tests. These plans would have a disproportionate impact on those who already struggle with barriers to health care—including residents of rural areas, low-income families, and people of color.

The word “disability” is vast and encompassing, and the funding issues poised to affect individuals with disabilities are just as widespread. In particular, many of the programs that help adults and children with special needs socialize, habilitate, learn, grow, work and fully participate in meaningful, productive lives are under fire. We’ve seen Trump mock people with disabilities, but we haven’t heard much about his policies regarding the services and support systems they rely on. We do know that his plans to block-grant Medicaid and repeal the Affordable Care Act could have devastating and long-lasting effects on the disabled community.

Donald Trump is an enemy of the American media. As recently as September 2016, he insisted on blacklisting critical news outlets from covering his events. He seeks to discredit journalists, and broadcasts the names of individuals who displease him—endangering their safety and leaving them open to online harassment. At his January 11th press conference he refused to call on CNN's reporter, calling him "fake news." He has a long history of threatening crippling lawsuits against publications or people who print/say anything he finds unfavorable or unflattering, all of which prevents the Fourth Estate from doing its job in holding him accountable to the American people. The free flow of ideas and information is essential to a democracy, and under no circumstances can we allow the First Amendment to be undermined.

Donald Trump aggressively targeted hard-working contributors to our society during his campaign and promised sweeping immigration changes in his first 100 days of office. He is threatening deportation, stripping funding from sanctuary cities, and rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which would prevent legislation of the DREAM Act. Let's not forget his plans to build a wall. Behind all of this posturing is an attempt to give credence to the idea that the white working class is losing jobs to “criminal” immigrants, when automation is the real (and inevitable) culprit.

Past personal indiscretions notwithstanding, Donald Trump—the candidate—proved time and again that he is, at best, tone-deaf to the issues that face most women. Based on his disrespectful and often openly misogynistic behavior, he is unlikely to champion policies that will build on the progress American women have made in the last fifty years. From an inadequate Parental Leave Plan, to a tax plan that penalizes single mothers, to choosing a Labor Secretary who is virulently opposed to raising the minimum wage (jobs overwhelmingly held by women—and women of color in particular), his policies and plans could set gender equality back decades. Yes, people are taking to the streets, but the work has only just begun.

Donald Trump has a complicated track record with LGBTQIA issues. He cannot seem to make up his mind on marriage equality or so-called Bathroom Bills. With such a cloudy record, it’s important to focus on what facts we actually have. Trump intends to fill Justice Scalia’s Supreme Court seat with an ultra-conservative judge (and likely proponent of overturning marriage equality). Mike Pence, one of the most outspokenly anti-LGBTQ politicians in the country, is Trump’s second-in-command. We must do all we can to protect the progress that’s been made, and ensure the LGBTQIA community the future it deserves.

Donald Trump has always been open about his plans (now a reality) to instate a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US, as well as establishing a program similar to the Muslim registry (NSEERS) that was put into place after 9/11. The flat-out incorrect idea that all people who practice Islam are terrorists is pervasive and extremely dangerous—to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. ISIS (also referred to as ISIL, or Daesh) is dangerous, yes, but ISIS and Islam are not the same thing. Anti-Muslim sentiment and a rise in violence toward the Muslim community cannot and must not be tolerated.

We are facing an administration stacked with members who deny that man-made pollution is responsible for the damage to our environment. Trump has repeatedly stated that climate change is “a hoax,” and chose Myron Ebell, a known climate change skeptic, to lead the EPA transition team. Trump selected Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA itself, despite the fact that he previously filed a lawsuit to halt the Clean Power Plan and has close ties to the fossil fuel industry. Trump has signed an Executive Order repealing the Clean Power Plan, which includes canceling the Paris Climate Agreement and pushing through the Keystone pipeline despite massive protests. His sons are notorious for big-game hunting, so there’s little hope Trump will continue the fight to save endangered species. Starting the fight on a local level may be our only hope to force this administration’s hand and save our planet from almost certain destruction.

During his campaign, Donald Trump called America’s urban centers “war zones” where people “get shot walking down the street.” Using questionable statistics and coded rhetoric, he characterized predominantly black and brown neighborhoods as hopeless, crime-ridden communities. His remedy for this: more police on the street and a national “stop and frisk” policy. Other members of Trump’s administration have dismissed the idea that institutional racism and implicit bias affect policing in America—despite the fact that blacks and Latinx are more likely to be killed by police than whites. The US has the world’s highest per capita incarceration rate. The incarceration rates disproportionately impact men of color. Trump’s rhetoric named him the “law and order” candidate, but the truth is that the policies he is calling for lead to the criminalization and incarceration of young people of color.

Donald Trump has already attempted (and failed) to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare,, and has vowed to try again. This threatens to end health coverage for over 20 million Americans, and return the uninsured rate to the pre-ACA high of 18%. Additionally, he plans to give control of Medicaid, which currently covers over 73 million Americans, including some of those enrolled through the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, to individual states. Tom Price, Trump’s pick for Health Secretary, has advocated privatizing Medicare, and Paul Ryan has stated publicly that he plans to gut Medicare, leaving our most vulnerable communities without critical healthcare.

A culture of division and hate has been fostered—even encouraged—during and since this election that has magnified the problems we already face with inclusiveness in this country. The effects of this divide go beyond policy: sometimes it’s just a feeling, and all too often, it escalates to vandalism and more serious bias crimes. Electing a man who is championed and supported by the KKK normalizes dangerous racist and anti-Semitic ideals. Electing a man with Trump’s history is the very definition of rape culture. Electing a man who resorts to bully tactics empowers bullies everywhere. But it’s not just Donald Trump, the person. It’s the environment that his campaign cultivated, one that separates our communities even further, and gives license to hate-mongers to act out. It puts anyone who is “different” in actual, real danger. We cannot, and will not, cave in to bigotry and fear, undoing the work that has been done. That’s why it’s critical right now for each of us to be a source of positive change, and to fight the normalization of hateful—and often illegal—behavior from our elected officials as well as the people around us.

Are we going to alter the ideology of those who identify with the far right? Probably not. But what about the Trump voters who swear it was an economic decision? Or who were genuinely misinformed? Or who live in very isolated communities and really don’t understand why people are afraid? What about Bernie supporters who refused to vote for Hillary? Or people who didn’t think it mattered, and stayed home on Election Day? Those people may be family members, coworkers, or childhood friends.

How can you find a way to join forces for what matters now?
Maybe it's time to have a conversation.

FIRST: Educate yourself about different perspectives. Consider reading any or all of these:

• Any of These Suggestions
• Understanding the US Working Class
• Why This Muslim Woman Voted for Trump
• Jews Explain Their Vote for Trump
• Why Did Some LGBTQIA People Vote for Trump?
• Black Americans Who Voted for Trump
• Is this Why So Many Women Voted for Trump?

(Remember, you don't have to agree. But try to understand, if you can.)

THEN: Make a list of people you know that you are NOT politically aligned with.

• Ask them—personally, not on social media—what spoke to them about the candidate they voted for (or why they didn't vote.) Listen. Then ask if the issue you care about is also important to them. Explain why it is very important to you.

• Ask them to make a list—to actually write down, on paper—people in their lives (however far removed) who are adopted, have adopted a child, have struggled with reproductive issues, have struggled to get healthcare, who are gay, who have gay loved ones, are People of Color, are in an interracial or interfaith marriage, have family from other countries, have been sexually assaulted, have terminated a pregnancy... you see where we're going with this, right? The idea is to emphasize that people in targeted communities are real people, and not just words on a website. Everyone has at least acquaintances who fit on this list. They may just not have thought about it that way.

• Ask them if, as a personal favor to you, they would read one—or several—of the articles from STEP 2 that you think will give them a new perspective on what your concerns right now are. Offer to discuss it with them, on the phone or in person. Actually do it.

Make a list of people you know that you are NOT politically aligned with.

This is a "put your money where your mouth is" moment. If they have personal reasons for voting the way they did, but tell you they do care about equality and the other concerns we are facing as a country, here's what you can do:

• In lieu of a birthday/holiday/wedding gift, ask them to donate to one of the organizations from STEP 2 that is important to you and supports the issues you care about—either in your name or their own. Tell them it would be a really meaningful way to prove that they care about you and your concerns, even if they don't agree with your political choices.

• You can give in their name to a bipartisan cause. Some people will do this pointedly, but you can also do it wholeheartedly. Send a note explaining why this kind of gift is meaningful to you.

Make a list of people you know that you are NOT politically aligned with.

Not everyone has money to give. But most people have time.

• Ask them to join you in a STEP 2 volunteer effort of your choosing; even better if you're willing to also do the same for them. Going "Beyond the Bubble" isn't just about getting people to see your point of view, but trying to see theirs as well. You don't have to agree, but you can find ways to support each other.

• Ask to attend a community meeting of theirs—be it church group or book club—to give a short talk about an issue you care about. Listen to the group’s concerns, and give thoughtful answers.

• Consider joining forces with The Bedrock Initiative. It's an amazing idea that could lead to incredibly positive change.

• Ask them to take an Oath on the TIMO website, and to share it. Maybe offer to take the same one in a show of solidarity. There is nothing "anti-" about elevating a community or resource in danger.

• Go back to the Step 3 Educate page. Having any one of those conversations is a great way to participate.

• Sign up for Unbubble

• Host a dinner. Ask each guest to bring someone you don't know—someone outside your circle, who isn’t a FB friend, who you would probably never otherwise socialize with. (A neighbor, a coworker, someone who works at a local business, or attends your guest's church, temple, or mosque. Even a random nice-seeming person on the bus would work.) Maybe it'll be awkward, and maybe not. Ultimately it doesn't matter, because maybe you'll all learn something.

• Try this experiment from The Guardian: Facebook Feed SWAP.

• Start a book group, using this list as a jumping-off point. Discuss.

• Use this website as a Guide for Any of the STEP 3 Categories

• SHARE THIS WEBSITE! The change will come from us, not Washington, D.C. And for that to happen, we ALL have to be part of the effort.