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Immediately after 9-11, people would throw rocks at me in the street, leave elevators if I walked in, and avoid me on the train just because of my turban. Then a couple months later, I was studying for law school at the local mall when a mother started screaming because her young daughter walked too close to me. That was the day I decided to make a difference and change my community. I started volunteering for SALDEF and 17 years later we have trained thousands of police officers, developed the next generation of Sikh leaders and helped shape policy to recognize Sikhs throughout America.
This past summer, we ushered in our largest class of the SikhLEAD New Jersey Internship Program by placing students in legislative positions throughout the State. We helped pass Sikh Awareness Month in legislatures throughout the country. I also had the pleasure to conduct police trainings with hundreds of officers by sharing our faith, our experiences, and the concerns we have as a community. I also spoke to the media after the racist remarks directed at the Attorney General made by the radio host Denis and Judi. These are just a few of the many projects I worked on, SALDEF also works day to day with individuals helping them with an array of issues including workplace discrimination, racial profiling, and school bullying.
Finally, the recent mid-term elections were a critical time to ensure our community’s voice was heard and we exercised our voice at the ballot box. To that end, our SikhVote campaign engaged Sikhs across the country. In Virginia and New Jersey, we also mailed out over 5,000 informational cards and called Sikh households to ensure they knew of voting deadlines, when the election was and their rights as voters.
Many of our Sangat wants to help and you can by donating today. Your donation will help create more opportunities for our Sikh youth through the SikhLEAD program throughout the country. Your donation means that we can reach more officers to train them on what it means to be Sikh in America. Your donation is the way you can make a difference and change our community. We cannot wait for others to create the change – YOU are the change that we need.
Sincerely,
SALDEF Board Member Amman Deep Singh Seehra, Esq.
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