Watch Sikh American on ABC News ‘What Would You Do’ Tonight

Tonight, Friday September 8th, ABC News’ ‘What Would you Do?’ (WWYD) will feature a story at 9 pm EST/PST, highlighting discrimination of a Sikh American male at a clothing store. The show presents a staged scenario where staff at a clothing store discriminate against a Sikh American patron. WWYD is a situational hidden camera program that features actors acting out Image-1scenes of conflict or illegal activity in public settings while hidden cameras record the scene. The show’s premise focuses on whether or not bystanders intervene, and how, if they saw a Sikh man being discriminated by an employee of a business who refuses to serve him because of his turban and the way he looks? Will customers step in and defend him? SALDEF collaborated closely with the ABC producers and casting agents for the show to identify Sikh candidates for the role as well as to ensure that the story accurately reflects Sikhi and the experiences of the Sikh American community. For two decades SALDEF has worked to ensure accurate and positive portrayals of Sikhs and Sikh Americans in the media, particularly around issues of unconscious bias, discomfort with the the Sikh articles of faith (panj kakars), and the media’s responsibility to deliver accurate information.

 READ: SALDEF Meets with Major Television Networks

We encourage the community to watch the airing of this event and to share comments on social media and via your networks. Please mention @saldef on Twitter and Facebook and @SikhAmericans on Instagram.