SMART Encourages Community to Exercise Restraint before Labeling this a Hate Crime Phoenix, AZ – A Sikh convenience store employee was murdered in Tempe, Arizona on Tuesday, September 23, in a crime which has not been labeled as hate-motivated by authorities. Sukhvir Singh, 33, was apparently stabbed to death by a transient named Bruce Phillip Reed. Police have arrested the 43-year-old Reed; a man law enforcement officials say had done odd jobs for the convenience store. A knife that might have been used in the killing was found Wednesday morning at a business near the convenience store, and Reed was booked by the police and charged with murder. Since learning about the shooting yesterday, SMART representatives have spoken with Sukhvir’s cousins and close family friends. Sukhvir’s parents reside near Chandigarh in Punjab, India and have applied for a visa to come to the U.S. for the funeral. SMART, along with the Sikh community nationwide, extends our prayers to Sukhvinder Singh’s family. SMART would also like to thank friends and neighbors who created a makeshift memorial for Sukhvir Wednesday morning, which included flowers, candles and religious artifacts. We will continue to notify the community about efforts to aid the family through our web site.
Sikh Convenience Store Worker Murdered in AZ
SMART Training Expected to Attract 800 Participants Washington, DC— Approximately 800 local, state, and federal law enforcement officials will participate in an awareness and protocol training regarding Sikhs and Sikhism in the Washington, DC-area tomorrow. The seminar is designed to build better relationships between law enforcement and the Sikh, Arab, and Muslim community and is the final event in a six-city, nationwide training conducted by the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service (CRS). The day-long seminar will take place in the suburbs of Washington, DC at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland. The training, entitled Sikhism 101: Awareness and Protocol for Law Enforcement provides an introduction to Sikh beliefs, history and culture. The interactive program includes a 25-slide PowerPoint presentation, video, and visual aids of Sikh articles of faith. In addition to the morning training, SMART will hold a “Training of Trainers” workshop to allow about 75 members of the local Sikh, Arab, and Muslim community to conduct this program in their local communities. Through this program, SMART has already trained over 1,000 law enforcement officials at regional trainings in California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Attendees at previous trainings have included: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents; Department of Transportation Security Administration personnel; representatives of U.S. Attorney’s offices; federal counter-terrorism task force officials; and local law enforcement officials, including the New York Police Department. SMART President Manjit Singh said, “Through these trainings, SMART is working towards affecting systemic change by demystifying the Sikh faith for law enforcement officials and reducing the chance that Sikhs are racially profiled. With the support of the Sikh community and the CRS, we hope to expand this program in the coming months so we can continue educating law enforcement officials across the country.” Based on the backlash that affected the Sikh American community following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, SMART has also created a Law Enforcement Reference Card. This pocket reference card includes protocols for the turban and kirpan and provides additional resources for law enforcement officials.
SMART Encourages Sikh Americans to Exercise their Rights Washington, DC – The management team of a set of nightclubs in Pittsburgh, PA which recently denied admission to a turbaned Sikh man based of their “no hats” dress code has amended its policy to allow turbans and other religious head-coverings. The clubs’ management informed the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a national civil rights organization, of the change earlier this week, which was circulated as a memorandum to all club managers and door attendants. The policy now states, “Anyone wearing head-wear such as a turban for religious purposes will be permitted entrance into the clubs.” After learning that a Sikh gentleman wearing a turban was denied entry to a club last month, SMART’s legal team contacted management at the club and offered to collaborate with them to revise their dress code. Contrary to some accounts, the Sikh patron who was accompanied by his wife to the establishment, was not attending a “strip” or “gentleman’s” club, but rather, the establishment was located in an area of Pittsburgh referred to as the “strip district.” SMART would like to thank attorney Ravinder Singh Bhalla of the law firm of Krovatin and Associates, which provided pro bono assistance to the Sikh gentleman by writing a letter on his behalf to the nightclub. Additionally, we thank the Anti-Defamation League of Cleveland, Ohio for also writing to the nightclub asking for a clarification of their “no-hats” policy. Following this successful resolution, SMART encourages Sikh Americans to contact us when they suspect a violation. To help the community better respond to such incidents, SMART has developed a KNOW WHAT TO DO pocket guide detailing steps that should be taken in the event of a discrimination, police profiling, and airport security issues.
Sikh Civil Rights Organization Concerned about Airlines’ Failure to Adequately Train Employees Washington, DC – On Tuesday, September 16 a Sikh businessman will file a lawsuit against Delta Airlines, Inc., its affiliate Atlantic Coast Airlines, Inc. and the flight crew alleging acts of racial profiling, intimidation and harassment during a routine commercial flight. Immediately after filing the lawsuit at the U.S. District Court, Newark, NJ, the plaintiff, Mr. Hansdip Singh Bindra, and his attorneys will hold a press briefing at the courtroom steps and will be joined by representatives from national civil rights organizations. On November 26, 2002, Hansdip Singh Bindra, a software consultant who maintains a turban and beard in accordance with his Sikh faith, boarded a flight in Newark, New Jersey bound for Dayton, Ohio. According to the complaint to be filed tomorrow by Mr. Bindra’s attorney, on seeing Mr. Bindra board the airplane, the flight attendant approached several passengers prior to the flight’s departure and commented “she would not allow what happened before, on this flight,” making reference to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. She then solicited the passengers’ help to physically subdue Mr. Bindra on her signal, because she felt he– the one wearing the “turban” – would be “trouble” on the flight. Before the flight took off, Mr. Bindra retrieved a magazine from an overhead compartment. After assuming his seat, Mr. Bindra was confronted by the flight attendant, who informed him that he and others from “the Middle East” should maintain a “low profile.” Mr. Bindra politely attempted to inform the flight attendant that he was a Sikh of South Asian origin, but was told to “shut up,” “stay seated” and “do not cause any problems.” Furthermore, the flight attendant told Mr. Bindra that she felt threatened by his presence on the airplane and was going to ask the captain to take the airplane back to the gate so that Mr. Bindra could be removed by law enforcement officials. In response to these disgraceful events, a number of Mr. Bindra’s fellow travelers filed complaints against the flight attendant at the conclusion of the flight. Passengers were outraged at the flight attendant and felt she had lost her composure and she, not Mr. Bindra, was a security risk to the flight. Passengers have also submitted affidavits verifying Mr. Bindra’s version of events on the flight. Although Delta Airlines has been presented with compelling evidence of unlawful racial profiling, harassment and intimidation, it has refused to take adequate measures to accept responsibility for such inappropriate conduct. Additionally, Delta has refused to offer Mr. Bindra adequate assurance that it will train its employees in a manner that would avoid similar incidents in the future. Delta has also failed to disclose publicly whether any disciplinary action has been taken against the flight attendant. “An important reason why I am here today is to help put an end to racial profiling at the airports and on the airplanes in this country. There is simply no justification for racial profiling – period,” said Mr. Bindra. His attorney, Ravi Singh Bhalla in a brief statement said, “There is no legal or other justification for the behavior of this flight attendant and Delta Airlines. Hansdip looks forward to telling his story to a jury of his peers in the coming months.” In response to Delta’s attempt to sweep this matter under the rug, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a national civil rights organization, is urging the Sikh, South Asian and Middle Eastern communities to exercise caution before choosing to fly Delta, until the airline takes concrete steps to prevent future acts of discrimination and publicly discloses the action taken in response to this particular incident. “Unless Delta takes affirmative, satisfactory steps to resolve Mr. Bindra’s lawsuit, and actively demonstrates acceptance of religious and cultural diversity among its customers, we will urge Americans, including those in the Sikh, South Asian, Middle Eastern, and other concerned communities, to take their business elsewhere,” said SMART’s President Manjit Singh. “First, however, we will evaluate Delta’s response to Mr. Bindra’s lawsuit before taking further action,” he added. Mr. Bindra’s lawsuit, among other things, seeks to mandate cultural and religious awareness training of all Delta employees to prevent acts of illegal discrimination against air travelers in the future, by ensuring passengers are not profiled on the basis of race or religion. Mr. Bindra is also seeking compensatory and punitive damages.