Dear Supporter 3

The Coalition, United Nations (UN) General Secretary Kofi Anan, UN President Jan Kavan, and religions leaders offer a prayer to open the 57th General Assembly of the UN

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ke Fateh

The Sikh Coalition formed after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Though several community advocacy groups existed then, there was a clear lack of cohesiveness, structure and outreach, leading to the inability for our community to mobilize nationally. Consequently, in the days that followed, Sikhs watched as people from the Muslim, Arabic, Christian, Jewish and South Asian communities represented themselves and other minorities. Finally, the tragic death of Balbir Singh Sodhi turned the attention of the nation towards the Sikh people.

While these events unfolded, activists across the country came together to form a Coalition to offer the community's support to the country and also fight the prevalent hate crimes, discrimination, and profiling against minorities.

The Sikh Coalition's mission is to:

Provide all citizens with the information and tools necessary for them to safeguard their fundamental rights as free citizens and make the most of the democratic process
Advocate cultural diversity and stand against racism while advocating social justice, equality for both sexes, and human rights for all peoples
Guide Sikh organizations, Sikhs, and others to promote the Sikh identity and deliver a strong, unified, message to the world which reflects the principles of the Sikh faith
Provide Sikh organizations, Sikhs, and others with the skills and resources necessary to help organize, coordinate, and implement an effective and sustained Coalition effort

Under this mandate, the Coalition and our members pursue a broad range of proactive programs to address the need to educate the broader community through:

Community Relations
Education Affairs
Human Rights
Government Affairs
Legal Affairs
Youth Outreach
Women’s Empowerment

The Coalition represents Sikh Gurdwaras, organizations, and youth groups across the country. With the vision of becoming a much needed central channel for the community, we recognize that our strength lies in the potency of our members and hence act as a means to empower grass roots communities and organizations.

We hope this report helps explain our work and how important your support is to the efforts of our community.