April 30, 2018 (New York, NY) – Today, the Sikh Coalition is pleased to announce that New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has conferred the state’s first-ever citation in recognition of April 2018 as Sikh Awareness & Appreciation Month. Through the Sikh Coalition’s engagement, the New York citation now joins the outstanding community-driven Sikh Awareness & Appreciation Month resolutions in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
“In New York, we know our diversity is our greatest strength, and Sikh Americans enrich our communities across the state,” said Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. “I extend my best wishes to the Sikh community during Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month.”
Additionally, 40+ bipartisan Congressional and Governors’ offices joined the Sikh Coalition to celebrate Vaisakhi by sharing social media posts on their platforms on April 14th, reaching a potential eight million Americans. These Sikh awareness initiatives join a Vaisakhi resolution introduced in the U.S. Senate and over 40 official Vaisakhi and Sikh awareness resolutions, proclamations, citations and events secured by Sikh leaders across the United States.
These additional recognitions include the following: Tucson, AZ; Union City, CA; Rock Island County, IL; Silvis, IL; Burlington, NJ; Fair Lawn, NJ; Franklin Park, NJ; Franklin, NJ; Glen Rock, NJ; Hamilton, NJ; Highland Park, NJ; Jersey City, NJ; Marlboro, NJ; Middlesex County, NJ; Monroe, NJ; Oakland, NJ; Robbinsville, NJ; Sayreville, NJ; Somerset County, NJ; Trenton, NJ; New York, NY; Houston, TX; Auburn, WA; Burien, WA; Kent, WA; Renton, WA; Tukwila, WA; King County, WA; and in the states of California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Pennsylvania. We acknowledge these and other communities that spread Sikh awareness this April.
“This public recognition demonstrates the power that we have as a community to raise Sikh awareness locally and nationally,” said Sim J, Singh, the Sikh Coalition’s National Advocacy Manager. “It’s inspiring to see so many Sikh community members working together to achieve this outcome as we continue our joint efforts to combat hate and educate the American public.”
The Sikh Coalition would like to thank the hundreds of Sikhs that worked to raise Sikh awareness this month as we continue our organizational work to educate the American public in a sustainable and cost effective way. Another marquee moment is coming this week when the groundbreaking episode of CNN’s United Shades of America, the first-ever hour-long cable episode focusing on the Sikh American community, airs this Sunday, May 6th at 10 pm ET/PT and 9 pm CT.