The Sikh Coalition Newsletter

Justice for All - The Weekly Newsletter
March 22, 2002
Volume 3

This week brought with it lots of challenges and opportunities for the Sikh Community. While we continue to educate others about our community, we continue to find challenges big and small that makes us more determined in our resolve. Here are some highlights of the activities this week:

Coalition Participates in National ACLU Civil Rights Meeting
March 16, 2002
The ACLU held a national meeting of civil rights leaders on post-9/11 civil rights issues and to develop a national action agenda. Gurpreet Singh (Dhillon), Amandeep Singh and Sukhman Singh (Dhami) of the Sikh American Association, a member organization of the Coalition, participated in the meeting. Among the organizations invited to the event were that Council of American Islamic Relations, the Arab American Institute and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Coalition Conducts Workshop on Hate Crimes Activism at Harvard
March 16, 2002
The Coalition organized and conducted a two hour workshop on hate crimes and hate crimes activism for an event organized by the Harvard South Asian Association. Supreet Kaur, a Coalition intern, organized and conducted the workshop

Coalition Participates in a Panel Discussion on Hate Crimes sponsored by Roseville Human Rights Commission
March 21, 2002
Harmandeep Singh, Education Director for the Coalition, was a main speaker on a panel entitled, “Continuing to Heal, Do I Have to Be Hateful After a Hateful Act?” The panel was organized by the Roseville Human Rights Commission in Roseville, Minnesota. The main speakers included representatives of the University of Minnesota Human Rights Center and the Minnesota Human Rights League.

Coalition Participates in Interfaith Solidarity Seder Organized by ADL
March 21, 2002
On behalf of the Sikh Coalition, Ravinder S. Bhalla participated in an interfaith solidarity sedar organized by the Anti-Defamation League of New Jersey. Among the organizations participating in this event were the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the AFL-CIO, the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police and the New Jersey Council of Churches.

Activism Opportunity – NYPD Turban Challenge
March, 2002
So that as many people in the community can read and hopefully take action, please print the Punjabi flyer on the challenge to the NYPD and distribute it in your Gurdwara. The flyer can be found at: http://www.sikhcoalition.org/amricsingh.asp

Also, if you or your friends have not had the opportunity, please sign the Coalition petition requesting the NYPD to abolish the no turban rule at: http://www.petitiononline.com/SikhNYPD/petition.html.

Event Announcement: SAALT Hate Crimes Panel And Video Screening
March 28, 2002
On Thursday March 28th, 2002, South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow, a leading organization addressing hate crimes and other civil rights issues affecting South Asian Americans, will conduct a hate crimes panel discussion and screening of their video, “Raising Our Voices: South Asian Americans Address Hate,” at 6:30pm, S. Dillon Ripley Center, Room 3027, 1100 Jefferson Drive, SW, Washington DC. The Sikh Coalition will be participating on the panel and is also an endorsing organization for the event, as is the Sikh American Association a constituent member of the Coalition. To find out more about SAALT please go to: www.saalt.org.


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