The Sikh Coalition Newsletter

Justice for All - The Weekly Newsletter
Bhadon 5, 534 NanakShahi
August 20, 2002
Volume 13

THE PASSING OF SUKHPAL SINGH
Members of The Sikh Coalition join with the rest of the Sikh community in praying for the family of Sukhpal Singh, who was shot on Sunday, August 4th. The details surrounding the death are still being investigated, and various Sikh groups, including The Sikh Coalition, SikhNet, Sikh Communications, and SMART, are working together in a joint effort with law enforcement and government agencies to ensure that all motives behind the crime are investigated. The Sikh community will be kept abreast of the situation as it develops.

The deeply moving and inspirational memorial service for Sukhpal Singh was held on Thursday, August 8th in California. A touching article on the service can be found here. We admire the strength and courage of the Sodhi family, which has embraced the true spirit of Sikhi in dealing with this difficult time.

The response from the Sikh community has been extremely heartfelt and touching. Please continue to send prayers messages and of support to the Sodhi family by writing to CommunitySupport@sikhcoalition.org or Sodhifamily@sikhnet.com. For more information, or to find out how you can send monetary support to the family, please refer to the Community Advisories (August 6 Advisory; August 8 Advisory) sent to the Sikh community earlier, write to info@sikhcoalition.org, or contact any of the other groups mentioned above.

COMMUNITY CALL FOR PERSONAL 9/11 STORIES
The Sikh Coalition is working with various media outlets across the country to ensure the Sikh community’s voice hits the newsstands to reflect and remember 9/11, specifically how it has impacted human lives. We want to ensure a diverse (men, women, first generation, second generation) yet collective "Sikh" voice weaves through media stories in the first few weeks of September.

That means we want to hear from you – your story(ies), feelings, and reflections. We want a thoughtful analysis of how you or someone in the Sikh community has been impacted by 9/11.

We are looking for two types of stories:
9/11 Impact Stories
Acknowledging Acts of Courage

The deadline for all submissions is Friday, August 23rd, 2002. Submissions should be about 400-600 words in length. Stories can be submitted in any of the following 3 ways:

1. Fill out the content guidelines outlined here and mail to personalstories@sikhcoalition.org. Please explicitly state which category your story falls under.

2. If you do not want to write the experience out but would rather talk to us, just send us an email at the above address and we will contact you.

ARAB AMERICAN INSTITUTE & COALITION HOST ADVOCACY GATHERING
The Arab American Institute (www.aaiusa.org) and The Sikh Coalition hosted a meeting of advocacy organizations that seek to protect the rights of the Americans and defend the democratic principles of the nation. Seeking to increase information sharing and awareness of common campaigns and look for opportunities to increase synergy between the groups on common goals, the meetings are an important first step.

Organizations attending included Human Rights Watch, National Asian Pacific Legal Consortium (NAPALC), National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (NCAPAD), Lawyers Committee for Civil Right Under Law (LCCR), Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), People for the American Way (PFAW), Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), Solidarity USA, Sikh Media Watch and Resource Taskforce (SMART), Islamic Institute, Civilrights.org, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), American Muslim Council (AMC), Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), National Council of LARAZA (NCLARAZA), Indian American Center for Political Awareness (IACPA), AMIRPAC, National Immigration Forum (NIF), Hmong National Dev (HND), Leadership Conference, National Immigration Forum, Community Foundation for the National Capital Region (CFNCR), and the Korean American Coalition (KAC).

The Sikh Coalition would like to thank Arab American Institute for their initiative in hosting this event and sponsoring its continuation in the coming months.

COALITION PARTICIPATES IN LANTERN FLOATING CEREMONY
On Tuesday, August 6th, The Sikh Coalition, along with other members of the Sikh community, participated in “From Hiroshima to Hope,” a lantern floating ceremony sponsored by the Japanese American community of the Seattle, Washington area. The ceremony was in remembrance of the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, as well as all victims of war and violence. Beautiful Japanese lanterns were created by children, decorated by Japanese calligraphers, and subsequently floated on Green Lake. Children from different communities also made origami cranes that were sent to Hiroshima as a message of hope.

In a spirit of true solidarity, Bhai Kuldip Singh ji from Gurudwara Singh Sabha of Washington lead the religious prayers by singing a shabad during the commemoration. This was the first time that the Sikh community has been requested to say the blessings for the annual lantern floating ceremony. In a message that was read out loud, the Mayor of the City of Hiroshima thanked all organizations who took part in the event. For more information, please contact jasmit.singh@sikhcoalition.org.

MINNESOTA DRIVER’S LICENSE RULE CLARIFIED
The Sikh Society of Minnesota held a meeting with representatives from the Minnesota Department of Transportation to clarify the new rule for taking driver's license pictures. This rule requires that a full face be visible in order for the license to be valid and could lead to the possible removal of turbans. Patricia McCarthy, Director of Driver's license Services, and Barbara Cox, Director of Public Affairs, reassured the community that nobody would be forced to remove their turban and the visibility of the face was most important. Even if one could not comply with the rule, they would be given the opportunity to file for a religious objection. There will be ongoing discussion and interaction with the MN Department of Transportation. For more information, please contact Navneet Singh at navneet.s.arora@wellsfargo.com or Rajinder Singh at rajsingh@rajsingh.com.

COALITION SPONSORS SAALT's HATE CRIME DOCUMENTARY SCREENINGS
The Sikh Coalition continues to sponsor film screenings of "Raising Our Voices: South Asian Americans Address Hate" across the United States. The documentary, produced by the South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), addresses hate crimes against South Asians in the U.S. both before and after September 11th. The screenings, a part of SAALT's national campaign to raise awareness about the problem of hate crimes in the South Asian American community, are accompanied by panel discussions with leaders from minority communities and civil rights organizations. The Coalition urges youth and other community members to get involved with this campaign by holding "Raising Our Voices" screening workshops in their local schools, gurudwaras, and communities. For more information on how The Sikh Coalition can help you arrange a screening in your area, please contact us at info@sikhcoalition.org.

Houston
The Coalition participated in SAALT’s showing of “Raising Our Voices” and panel discussion at Houston Community College in Houston, Texas. The screening and discussions took place 3 times on separate campuses of the college:

Central Campus on Monday, August 12
Stafford Campus on Tuesday, August 13
Alief Campus on Tuesday, August 13

CALL FOR COMMUNITY ACTION
On a July 11, 2002 airing of CNN’s television program Crossfire, Crossfire Republican analyst Bob Novak made a derogatory remark regarding religious headwear. When expressing support for allowing pilots to have guns in the cockpit, Novak stated, “If they [the pilots on the 9/11 flights] had those guns, those handkerchief heads with box cutters wouldn't have killed 3,000 Americans.” The exact transcript from the show can be found here.

Such an irresponsible remark is unacceptable and disrespects the religious beliefs of Sikhs, Muslims, and other groups who wear religious headwear. We would like to thank those who have responded to the Call for Action by writing to Crossfire at crossfire@cnn.com or filling out Crossfire’s online feedback form, which can be accessed from here. We strongly urge those who have not yet done so to condemn Novak’s statement by taking a minute to simply copy, paste, and send the following sample letter:

To Whom It May Concern:

As a member of the Sikh American community, I am writing to express my outrage over a derogatory remark regarding religious headwear made by CNN Crossfire Republican analyst Bob Novak. On the July 11, 2002 airing of the show, Novak referred to the terrorists of the 9/11 catastrophe as “handkerchief heads.”

The 26 million Sikh men and women in the world, 500,000 of which reside in the U.S., are required by religious tenet to cover their heads. Novak’s remarks are irresponsible and disrespect the religious beliefs of Sikhs, as well as other groups such as Muslims who wear religious headwear. Furthermore, CNN’s allowing such commentary amounts to permitting racial or ethnic slurs to cross the airwaves while disguised as a legitimate, political viewpoint—this is unacceptable from one of the world’s leading news organizations.

I, along with the entire Sikh community, demand that CNN take corrective action in order to ensure that its employees are not given a platform to propagate such bias in the future.

Sincerely,

<your name here>

The Sikh Coalition would like to particularly commend the efforts of the Network For Hate Free Community in Santa Clara County, CA for showing solidarity with religious minorities in America and speaking out against bias and intolerance. In response to The Coalition’s "Call For Action" request, Wiggsy Sivertsen, Chair for the Network, sent Crossfire an email denouncing Novak’s statement. The heartfelt letter from the Network can be viewed here.


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