Five Reasons Not to Miss Gala

5. Enjoy critically acclaimed global music sensation Red Baraat—a pioneering eight-piece band from Brooklyn started by Sunny Jain—as they energize the crowd with their mix of North Indian bhangra rhythms and elements of jazz, go-go, brass funk, and hip-hop. Preview their performance

4. Hear from the creators of the “Make Love” campaign, including advertising agency Peterson Milla Hooks and GAP CMO Seth Farbman about their decision to cast Sikh American Waris Ahluwalia in their holiday campaign and why they supported the Sikh American community online and in the media after one of the ads was defaced in New York City.

3. Discover how the Southern Poverty Law Center—an organization dedicated to ensure equal treatment for all Americans regardless of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation since it was founded in 1971—is using the courts to combat hate—and those who espouse hate—to create a more open and tolerant America.

2. Meet the “Father of Fiber Optics,” Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany, and hear his Sikh American story. Learn how the Sikh American physicist challenged his Indian professor’s theories about light, exploring unchartered territory that led him to later found Optics Technology, Inc., and become a leading Sikh American scholar and philanthropist.

1. Celebrate our Sikh American achievements—including the first ever Sikh American PSA and SikhLEAD’s historic “Langar on Capitol Hill.”