Post Paris: Exercise Caution & Know Your Rights

The Sikh community is heartbroken over the tragic loss of lives in Baghdad, Beirut, Paris and Mali, as well as the unimaginable suffering experienced by tens of thousands of Syrian refugees worldwide. We stand in solidarity and support with all the victims and offer our prayers to their families. Unfortunately, the Sikh Coalition also understands that much of this fear and subsequent backlash gets redirected towards minority religious communities. We urge every Sikh to exercise extra vigilance and caution during this period of increased anxiety. Please notify law enforcement of any threats of violence and contact the Sikh Coalition at 212-655-3095 or legal@sikhcoalition.org. Also, as we move into Thanksgiving and the busiest travel time of the year, the Sikh Coalition urges Sikh travelers to understand their rights by reviewing our Sikh Air Traveler’s Guide and Bill of Rights.

Sikh Panth Comes Together to Pave Path Forward

Hundreds of thousands of Sikhs gathered in Punjab on November 10, 2015, for the betterment of the Sikh community. We’re inspired by the collective spirit of the Panth and are optimistic about our future. Our community faces challenges in making sure our voice is heard both here in the U.S. and in Punjab. The Sikh Coalition has helped broadly highlight the issues we face in the US. While we have periodically called attention to the challenges facing Sikhs elsewhere, including Punjab, we recognize the need and desire for the community to know more and be more connected. With community support, we will begin to do this more proactively.

27 Generals Demand Military End Religious Discrimination

Twenty-seven retired U.S. generals have joined the growing chorus of Americans calling on the U.S. Department of Defense to eliminate the presumptive ban on Sikh Americans serving in the U.S. military. The Sikh Coalition and McDermott Will & Emery LLP delivered the generals’ letter to Defense Secretary Carter on November 11, 2015. This letter stated that no American should have to choose between their faith and the right to serve our nation. Click here to read more.

California Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month

For the fifth year in a row, the California state legislature has passed ACR-37 declaring November as Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month. We are grateful for leadership from Dr. Onkar Bindra and the greater Sikh community in support of this resolution. The Sikh Coalition, in collaboration with the California Sikh community, has worked to create a list of projects that you can lead in your city to celebrate Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month. Sangat in Fremont, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Sacramento and Stockton have actively been involved. For more information on how you can get involved, please visit the Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month page.

Thirty One Years Later: Remembering 1984

Thirty one years ago, Indian government and police officials attempted genocide against the Sikh minority in India. The 1984 massacres occurred within our lifetimes, but with each passing year, the likelihood of securing justice grows dimmer, and the world remains largely ignorant about what happened. In this context, the Sikh Coalition urges its supporters to continue raising this issue in every possible forum so that we ensure that these crimes are never repeated, forgotten, or left unpunished.

From Oak Creek to Chapel Hill: Hate Crime Stories Shared With Congress

On October 22, 2015, the Sikh Coalition and Muslim Advocates co-hosted a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill, during which victims of hate violence spoke firsthand about the impact hate has had on their lives and communities. The briefing featured testimony by Raghuvinder Singh, whose father, Baba Punjab Singh, remains in a semi-coma after the mass shooting at the Oak Creek Gurdwara on August 5, 2012. Mohammad Abu-Salha and Farris Barakat, who lost three family members, Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife, Yusor Mohammad, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, in the Chapel Hill, North Carolina shooting on February 10, 2015 also shared their gripping stories to a packed room of Hill staff. Click here for photos from the briefing. Click here to read more.

Sikh Leaders Attend White House Meeting on Bullying

As part of the Act To Change campaign, on October 28, 2015, the Sikh Coalition’s Director of Law and Policy, Arjun Singh, joined three Sikh community members, all of whom have long advocated for anti-bullying reform, for a high-level meeting with senior administration officials at the White House. Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett joined Arjun Singh, Dapinder K. Ahluwalia, Aasees Kaur and Tejinder Singh for a roundtable discussion that featured the Sikh perspective along with a broader discussion on how federal agencies can better combat bias-based bullying. Click here to read more.

Sikh Man Receives Racist Receipt at Maryland Restaurant

On October 25, 2015, Parampal Singh Ghai decided to fuel up with snacks at the Maryland House Service Plaza in Aberdeen, Maryland. While Parampal was waiting for his food at Nathan’s, he looked down at his receipt. To his horror, he saw the cashier had written his name as “Osama.”. He quickly moved to confront her about why she was discriminating against him, calling him “Osama”, and humiliating him. She said nothing and smirked. Meanwhile, another Nathan’s employee and a customer laughed at Parampal, deepening his humiliation. Parampal, who had now lost his appetite, returned his food. The Sikh Coalition is appalled by the cashier’s unacceptable, outrageous, offensive and discriminatory behavior. We applaud Parampal for speaking up and standing up for his rights and call on all Sikhs to practice their faith fearlessly. For more on this incident, check out coverage in the Baltimore Sun.

Sikh Graduates to Full-Time Deputy in Harris County, Texas

Congratulations to Navdeep Singh Nijjar on his graduation as a full-time deputy for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Texas. After a long journey, Navdeep has become only the second turbaned and bearded Sikh deputy to serve at the HCSO, in addition Sandeep Dhaliwal. Thank you to current Sheriff Hickman and former Sheriff Garcia for their efforts in making this happen. We also wish Navdeep the best of luck and thank him for paving the way for observant Sikhs to serve in law enforcement. Click here for photos from the graduation ceremony.

NBA Showcases Sikh Community

On November 14, 2015, the Sikh Coalition and the Los Angeles Clippers hosted nearly 400 members of the California sangat for a Sikh Awareness & Appreciation game. The game, which featured Sikh entertainment and education throughout, reached 18,000 Americans. This event was one of several initiatives planned by the Sikh Coalition during November’s Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month in California. Click here for photos of the event. Click here for a video featuring Raginder “Violinder” Singh Momi. Click here to read more.

Please Welcome Our New Media & Communications Manager

The Sikh Coalition is thrilled to welcome Jagmeet Singh as our new Media and Communications Manager. He is responsible for executing social and traditional media initiatives, while expanding the growing footprint of our work on behalf of civil rights and the broader Sikh community. Prior to joining the Sikh Coalition, Jagmeet worked as an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist, reporting and producing for NPR and CBS affiliate stations. He uses this combination of skills to create clearer and more compelling communication for our civil rights work. Born and raised in small-town North Carolina, Jagmeet earned his master’s degree from the UNC School of Media and Journalism.

CNN Op-Ed – “Don’t Let Hate Persist in America”

On October 22, 2015, the Sikh Coalition’s Director of Law and Policy, Arjun Singh, published an Op-Ed with CNN entitled “Don’t Let Hate Persist in America.” In the Op-Ed, Arjun argues for a new federal hate crimes law. Since 2009, the federal government has obtained only 29 hate crime convictions. Arjun reasons that this is because a troubling legal interpretation has rewritten the federal hate crimes law to require prosecutors to show that hate was the sole factor motivating the crime, not just a substantial motivating factor. This creates a near insurmountable burden for federal prosecutors looking to obtain a hate crime conviction. Arjun concludes by calling on Congress to pass legislation to close this disturbing loophole. Click here to read the article.

Advocacy Workshop at University of California, Santa Cruz

On November 7, 2015, the Sikh Coalition’s Director of Law and Policy, Arjun Singh, and Community Development Manager, Harjit Kaur, led a workshop on community advocacy at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The workshop featured presentations on law and policy, media outreach and community engagement. During the workshop students prepared their own grassroots advocacy strategies based on their interest, which ranged from the rising cost of college tuition to the criminalization of homelessness. The Sikh Coalition would like to thank Professor Nirvikar Singh for organizing the workshop.

Legal Program Trains U.S. Customs and Border Protection

On October 19, 2015, Gurjot Kaur, Senior Staff Attorney at the Sikh Coalition, provided a Sikh awareness and religious discrimination presentation for the United States Customs and Border Protection at its New York City field office. Gurjot discussed the legal issues facing the Sikh American workforce, particularly in law enforcement, and urged for greater diversity and inclusion of Sikh religious practices in uniformed positions. She analyzed recent cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, all laws designed to end religious discrimination in America. She spoke of the challenges the Sikh American community continues to face, including a lack of equal employment opportunity to serve as uniformed police officers with the New York City Police Department and in the U.S. Armed Forces. Gurjot was joined by Rabbi Abe Friedman and the Reverend Doctor Barbara Williams-Harris. The inaugural Religious and Cultural Awareness panel was inspired by the Sikh Coalition’s earlier presentation on religious discrimination law at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office in New York City in June 2015.

Director of Law and Policy Participates in Briefing on Racial and Religious Profiling

On October 20, 2015, Arjun Singh, the Sikh Coalition’s Director of Law and Policy, participated in a Congressional briefing on racial and religious profiling. Hosted by the Arab American Institute, the briefing featured panelists from the Leadership Conference and the ACLU. In his remarks, Arjun discussed how profiling leads to stigma, bullying, and discrimination, and specifically recalled the story of Inderjit Singh Mukker, who was assaulted in a Chicago suburb this September. Click here to view a video from the briefing.

Legal Director Participates in Panels on Hate Crimes

Harsimran Kaur, the Sikh Coalition’s Legal Director, participated in two Chicago-area panel discussions about hate crimes in the wake of the bias-based attack on Inderjit S. Mukker in Darien, IL in September. The first, entitled “STOP THE HATE! ReActing Through Community Organizing,” was held at the University of Illinois-Chicago on October 20, 2015 and featured a screening of the film “Waking in Oak Creek” about the tragic shooting at the Gurdwara in Oak Creek, WI. The second, entitled “Steps Towards Religious Understanding,” was held as part of North Central College’s Anti-Hate Week 2015 in Lisle, IL on October 29, 2015.

White House Leads Anti-Bullying Listening Session with Youth

On October 15, 2015, representatives from the Department of Education (DOE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) met with Junior Sikh Coalition students in a concerted effort to learn firsthand about their bullying experiences. This Bullying Listening Session was an initiative of the federal Asian American and Pacific Islanders Bullying Prevention Task Force, which includes advocacy groups and community organizations across the country. During the session, youth leaders spoke openly about their experiences, factors that buffer against or exacerbate bullying and provided suggestions for addressing bullying systematically. The attendees of the listening session, including both the students and federal government officials, are now better equipped to address bullying. The students are well-versed in the resources made available to them by the federal government, and the DOE and DOJ now have a better sense of the extent of this issue and how often it goes unreported. We encourage students and parents to always report bullying. Please visit www.sikhcoalition.org/endschoolbullying to learn more.

JSC Member Speaks on Panel on Microaggressions

On October 27, 2015, Almeet Kaur, a third year member of the Junior Sikh Coalition, participated in a panel entitled “Asian Stereotypes: Understanding How Microaggressions Impact Youth and Professionals,” hosted by the Asian American Federation. Almeet delivered an account of her experiences with microaggressions as a young Asian American Sikh-Punjabi female. She helped professionals, students, parents, organizers and community members understand the identity conflicts Asian American youth often experience and pointed out how this has heightened for South Asian and Arab Americans post-9/11. Click here for a video of the panel.

JSC Volunteer at New York City Marathon

On November 1, 2015, for the third year in a row, the Junior Sikh Coalition (JSC) joined hundreds of volunteers for the annual TCS New York City Marathon. As competitors took off in Staten Island to complete their 26.2-mile trek across all five boroughs of New York City, JSC and other volunteers set up their water and Gatorade station in Harlem. They vigorously greeted the participants with hydration and encouragement. JSC is proudly represented Sikhs at this energetic event filled with nothing but love and seva.

Introducing Our New Legal Fellows

We are excited to welcome our new legal fellows, Anna Jay, based in New York, and Pawanpreet Kaur Dhaliwal, based in California. Anna Jay graduated in May 2015 from NYU School of Law, where she studied human rights and humanitarian law. She has advocated for the rights of minority communities in India and the United States and has worked on human rights projects based in Yemen and Palestine. Before law school, she worked as a translator at Sarai in Delhi and as an interpreter for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kashmir. Anna interned at the Sikh Coalition in 2013. Pawanpreet Kaur Dhaliwal is a May 2015 Berkeley Law graduate with a longstanding commitment to serving marginalized communities of color. She is a daughter of Punjabi Sikh immigrants and was raised in a small farmworker town in California’s Central Valley. Pawanpreet attended Harvard College and UC Berkeley Law School (Boalt Hall). During law school, she was a summer law clerk at Public Advocates, a clinical student in the housing practice at the East Bay Community Law Center and an Ella Baker Legal Intern at the Center for Constitutional Rights.