Let’s tell your story…

My name is Brooke Salkoff and this Thanksgiving week, I reach out with gratitude for sharing your faith and your community with me.  I joined SALDEF this summer after a 17-year career on television, most recently as national correspondent for NBC News.  After covering Barack Obama’s inauguration, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other top national news of the day, I have found another vital story I need to tell.  Yours.

As you and I know, too few Americans understand what it means to be Sikh, nor do they see or read or hear about the many positive and integral ways Sikh Americans contribute to American life.  This needs to change if the United States is to live up to its promise as the “shining city on a hill.”

Your support has been critical to our important first step:  conducting the first-ever national survey on public perception of Sikh Americans.  Now we have the insights needed to transform mainstream understanding of Sikh Americans in a powerful and efficient way.

We are poised to tell your positive story pro-actively, via traditional and online media, to reach Americans where they live, work, play and learn.  This effort will yield rewards beyond your community, when Sikhs are credited with sharing basic American values and reflecting American ideals.
You have my experience and commitment, and I am asking for yours.  Join me. Let’s create a world of greater understanding, appreciation and respect, for the benefit of us all.
Kindly, Brooke Salkoff Communications Director

P.S. Learn more about SALDEF’s Media Initiative and our work in our Annual Report.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!! As we gather with our loved ones during this holiday season, we have the opportunity to reflect on what we are grateful for – as individuals, as a family, and as a community. Personally, I am thankful that SALDEF has generous supporters like you to fund the important work we have been doing for over 17 years.  SALDEF is nearly 80% funded by community members like you so your decision to support us has a REAL impact on what we are able to achieve. If you haven’t contributed in 2013 yet, please make your 100% tax deductible donation here. Just over 16 months ago, the tragic shooting in Oak Creek showed us the extreme levels of hate and ignorance that exist in our society, and the urgent need to create awareness about Sikhs and Sikhism in American society. To that end, SALDEF launched the Media Initiative earlier this year, aimed squarely at raising the profile of Sikhs in America. In our first year, we conducted a public perception assessment, titled “Turban Myths” to survey what the general public knows (or thinks they know) about Sikhs.  I hope you will take a moment to read the results here. Additionally, we established the community’s first-ever Sikh Speaker’s Bureau to begin building a cadre of spokespeople who are professionally media trained and can articulate the basic concepts of Sikhi accurately. To lead this high profile initiative, we have hired a 17-year veteran from NBC national news as our Communications Director. We are excited to have her experience and skills working on Sikh issues. We can take these bold steps only because of your financial support. So, if have not already done so, please make a year-end gift to SALDEF and help us move the Sikh American community forward in 2014! Thank you again for your support and have a happy New Year! Sincerely, Jasjit Singh SALDEF Executive Director

What do hate crimes and racial profiling have in common? They are the two reasons that SALDEF has made training law enforcement officers a priority since 1999.  The law enforcement community is responsible for investigating hate crimes and is also the group most likely to racially profile. So, isn’t it important that law enforcement know who Sikhs are? SALDEF has been a pioneer in training law enforcement officers about Sikhs and Sikhi, and SALDEF’s Law Enforcement Partnership Program (LEPP) has had an incomparable impact. In the last year alone, SALDEF has conducted in-person trainings for Law Enforcement in a number of cities across the United States, including:

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Boston, Chelsea, Medford, and Springfield, MA
  • Daytona Beach, FL
  • Detroit, MI
  • Houston, TX
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Raleigh, NC
  • Seattle, WA

At agencies and departments including:

  • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
  • Houston Police Department Academy
  • Los Angeles Police Department
  • Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
  • Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
  • U.S. National Parks Service
  • Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center

As a testament to our partnership with Law Enforcement, our materials have been added to the curriculum of the states of California and Washington, the city of Las Vegas, NV and the TSA. In fact, earlier this year, SALDEF was recognized with the TSA’s first Community Partnership Award at their National Conference. You can help ensure that Law Enforcement Officials are educated about Sikhs by: Supporting our year-end fundraising drive with a 100% tax deductible donation today. Become a monthly donor at $15/month or give a one-time generous donation, and help us reach our year-end target of $250,000. Consider that your donation of: •    $250 – provides free informational materials during a training session •    $500 – pays for a SALDEF staff to travel to a city to conduct a training session •    $1000 – supports distribution of 200 copies of SALDEF’s On Common Ground training video Support us with a generous year-end donation or monthly donation so that we can expand this program and build a partnership with the police department in your city! To donate, visitwww.SALDEF.org/donate.

As 2013 comes to an end, SALDEF has diligently worked to deliver on its promise of defending and empowering you, the Sikh American community. We are effectively… Shifting Public Perception

Launched the community’s first Sikh Media Initiative so that we as the Sikh American community can begin to tell our own story. This nationwide initiative will harness the power of digital and traditional mainstream channels to educate the U.S. media and public about Sikh Americans and the Sikh faith. Additionally, over Columbus Day weekend, SALDEF’s inaugural Speakers Bureaureceived media training at NBC News headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Creating Future Leaders

In 2011, SALDEF launched a unique initiative called SikhLEAD to inspire, train and support young Sikh Americans as they prepare for a lifetime of community engagement and leadership.  Just two years late, we placed nine students on Capitol Hill and in the DC offices this summer, creating the largest Sikh voice in our nation’s capital in Sikh American history. Additionally we graduated our second Leadership Development Program (LDP) class in May, and welcomed our third LDP class this October, bringing the total to 52 emerging leaders and placing 16 young Sikh Americans in positions on Capitol Hill and in the Federal Agencies. With your support, we can continue to develop leadership skills, encourage political and civic engagement, and provide unparalleled experiences for our youth.

Raising the Community’s Voice

We used our SikhVote initiative to ensure Sikh Americans cast their vote in the 2012 and 2013 elections, after receiving information in English and Punjabi. SikhVote saw an increase in Sikh American voting through first of its kind English/Punjabi phone banking, registration drives across the county through online and in-person efforts, and publishing of a voter toolkit. Additionally, after many years of advocacy, working with FBI Director Mueller, congressional leaders, and national collaborations, the FBI will now begin the separate tracking and reporting of hate crimes committed against Sikhs. This is a huge victory for the community in ensuring that we can accurately tell how are community is affected by bias motivated violence.

Responding to Sangats in Their Times of Need Regrettably our sangat still faces incidents of hate and attack for the simple reason that they choose to follow their faith.  SALDEF has been at the forefront to responded to communities across the country in their time of need, be it:

Bringing Your Concerns to Key Decision Makers

This year, SALDEF worked with members of the community and United States Congress to inaugurate the American Sikh Congressional Caucus, with the purpose of educating Members of Congress and the general public about Sikh American issues and to also allow Members to strategize on how to best support the Sikh American community. Additionally, we have met with over a dozen congressmen, senators and Administration officials over the past year to raise community issues related to voter rights, racial profiling, school bullying and workplace religious freedom. Your support gives us the opportunity to participate in high-level government advocacy such as this.

SALDEF Year-End Campaign Support us with a generous year-end donation or monthly donation so that we can expand this work and continue to empower the community. Your donation will help us:

  • Educate local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies around the country as to who Sikh Americans are and how to treat them and their articles of faith with respect
  • Inspire our future Sikh American leaders through our SikhLEAD Leadership Development and Internship Programs
  • Monitor the media to ensure they are providing their audiences with accurate representations of Sikh Americans
  • Advocate to policy makers in Washington D.C. on behalf of Sikh Americans

Dear Supporter, We’re proud to present to you the first-ever nationwide public perception assessement of Sikh Americans:  “Turban Myths.”  On Dec. 14th, Sikh Americans from across the country gathered at Stanford University Graduate School of Business where Stanford researchers, working in collaboration with SALDEF, unveiled this groundbreaking research.  Our thinking was this:  if we don’t fully understand the awareness gaps about Sikhism, how can we effectively address them?

Read the full research report here.

Among the report’s key findings:

  • Roughly 70% of the American public cannot identify a pictured Sikh man as a Sikh;
  • About half of the public associate the turban with Islam, and about half think Sikhism is a sect of Islam;
  • Anti-turban bias exists even among Americans with a greater understanding of Sikhism;
  • To define the brand and change public perception of the turban, the community must invest in national media using a consistent and coherent message.

Check out the pictures below:  Sikh Americans gathered to hear the report’s findings and work together on constructive solutions.  Our goal for 2014:  to create the positive Sikh identity that is lived in our community but, as our report demonstrates, is not well understood beyond it. Chardi Kala! The SALDEF Team.

Year in Review: Read the 2013 Annual Report This past year has been one of continued success and progress as SALDEF has grown. In our annual report, you can learn more about newly launched Media Initiative, our youth development program SikhLEAD, and our effort to register voters through SikhVOTE. To learn more about our work this year please click here to read our Annual Report. VIDEO: You Make Our Progress Possible Our work would not be possible without your support. Your investment in SALDEF is an investment in the Sikh American community.  Join us in ensuring the success of our programs with a tax-deductible donation today. This October, alumni from the SikhLEAD program came together to welcome the third annual class into the Leadership Development Program and celebrate the achievements of the Sikh American community. Throughout the weekend, they heard directly from inspirational role models like Fauja Singh, the 102 year-old marathon runner, and challenged themselves to find out what inspires them to create progress in the Sikh American community. Click here to support SALDEF’s Year End Fundraising Campaign. Application Period Open for SikhLEAD Internship Program SikhLEAD partners with congressional offices, federal agencies and other DC based organizations to provide Sikh Americans with unique and enriching internship experiences–from working on communications, advocating for policies, to helping constituents. This internship program is an avenue to explore a potential career track, create a network of professional and personal contacts, develop real-world skills, and build confidence. As placements are made on a rolling basis, early applicants are given preference in this highly competitive program. Click here to learn more about the program and apply today. SALDEF Receives TSA’s First Ever Community Partnership Award SALDEF received the first ever Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Community Partnership Award presented at TSA’s Annual Coalition Conference held at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. SALDEF received the award due to the strong partnership developed and maintained with TSA over the past decade by conducting trainings for transportation safety officers across the country, developing classroom and online curricula for TSA officers and leadership, creating the On Common Ground training video, working with the agency to help solve problems associated with screening policies, and educating the Sikh American community about such policies. Learn more about the award here. TSA Officers Learn about Sikhs Before Holiday Travel Season In November, SALDEF Northeast Regional Director, Jaswant Chani, conducted a Sikh awareness training for members of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) office in Chelsea, MA.  The training provided information on the Sikh faith and theology, as well as the challenges facing Sikh Americans. The presentation included the viewing of SALDEF’s training video On Common Ground. This is a continuation of the partnership of several years that SALDEF has had with TSA to train their officers across the Northeast under our Law Enforcement Partnership Program. SALDEF Presents at National Lawyers Conference In November, SALDEF was invited to speak to over 100 attorneys on a panel entitled “Hate Crimes and the Asian American Community” at the annual conference of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) in Kansas City, Missouri. The panel focused on the post-9/11 experiences of members of the Asian Pacific American community, how lawyers can use their knowledge to respond to and prevent such incidents, and steps the community can take to improve relations with law enforcement and government. SALDEF was joined on the panel by representatives of the Council on American Islamic Relations, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, and the law firm, Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg, P.C. Faith-Based Organizing at Advancing Justice Conference SALDEF led the conversation in a 2 hour workshop on Faith, Power and Social Justice at the 5th Annual Advancing Justice Conference, November 14-16, hosted by Asian American Advancing Justice-Los Angeles. They key question we addressed was the role of faith-rooted community organizing in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities. The workshop drew faith based leaders and organizers from across the country who exchanged ideas and dialogued around faith-rooted community organizing efforts. The workshop allowed the panelists and the attendees to learn from each other’s experiences and build bridges across faiths connecting our struggles. Upcoming Events:

Sikh American Organizations Stand with Gurbaksh Singh on 36th Day of His Hunger Strike; Demand Rule of Law in India PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: Sukhman Dhami | sdhami@ensaaf.org | 1.800.668.1516 x 101 December 20, 2013 — Numerous organizations, including the U.S. Department of State, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, have expressed concerns about irregularities in the Indian judicial system and impunity on the part of government officials implicated in atrocities against Sikhs during this period. Their reporting has highlighted, among other things, secret cremations of “disappeared” Sikhs and counterinsurgency laws that facilitated human rights abuses and shielded security forces from prosecution. As organizations committed to universal human rights, including the right to due process, we appeal to the international community for increased oversight over India to ensure that its government upholds the rule of law. Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, has made no public statement about Gurbaksh Singh’s hunger strike, while Parkash Singh Badal, the Chief Minister of Punjab, ordered the unlawful detention of Gurbaksh Singh for his peaceful protest, before releasing him due to public pressure. We, the undersigned, simply demand that India undertake a judicial review of cases against Sikh prisoners detained under counterinsurgency laws and release those who have served their sentences or have been illegally detained. Ensaaf, Jakara, Sikh Coalition, Sikh Research Institute, SALDEF, UNITED SIKHS-USA

SikhLEAD Internship Program - Applications Due Feb 14 - www.sikhlead.org

Are you interested in getting a behind the scenes look of what goes on in your Senator or Congresswoman’s office? Have you ever wondered what goes on in a federal agency? The SikhLEAD Internship Program partners with congressional offices, federal agencies and other DC based organizations to provide Sikh Americans with enriching internship experiences. You walk the halls where history is made every day—this is an experience that will surely change your perspective on how this nation was made and how it functions. Curious? Click here to watch a video about the internship program. Law students, graduate students, college students and recent grads of all majors and backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Past particpants have included astrophysics, English, international relations, and biology majors who have interned in Congress, at the White House, at the Department of Justice, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Internship placements are made based on your interests, credentials, and the needs of the host office. Participants are placed on a rolling basis. Apply early as the program is competitive. The application deadline is Friday, February 14, 2014. Apply today – early applications get preference! This internship program is an avenue to live in Washington, DC, during the summer while exploring a potential career track, creating a network of professional and personal contacts, developing real-world skills, and gaining experience that will open doors in the future. While intern responsibilities will vary based on placement, you may have the chance to work in a Congressman’s press office, develop and advocate for policy positions, and help community members in need. Join us in Washington, DC, this summer! Apply today! SALDEF awards all selected participants with a $1500 stipend for the summer. Throughout the duration of the internship, SALDEF will host a series of special programming and opportunities, such as leadership workshops, networking events, and cultural outings in DC, to further contribute to the development of the next generation of leaders.

SALDEF, the nation’s oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy group, received the first ever Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Community Partnership Award presented at TSA’s Annual Coalition Conference held at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. SALDEF received the award due to the strong partnership developed and maintained with TSA over the past decade by conducting trainings for transportation safety officers across the country, developing classroom and online curricula for TSA officers and leadership, creating the On Common Ground training video, working with the agency to help solve problems associated with screening policies, and educating the Sikh American community about such policies. The award was presented by John W. Halinski, Deputy Administrator and Kimberly Walton, Assistant Administrator for Civil Rights & Liberties, Ombudsman, and Traveler Engagement. “SALDEF has been an excellent partner and we look forward to continuing our productive collaboration and open dialogue with them”, said TSA Deputy Administrator Halinski. “While SALDEF reaches out to engage their constituency, they also reach out to engage with TSA. The goal has been to work together to find the balance between security and civil rights and liberties. SALDEF also regularly conducts religious awareness training for government, law enforcement agencies and private businesses. In fact, the training video On Common Ground was produced by SALDEF and is one of three videos that TSA has used for so many years in its annual cultural awareness training for the entire workforce.” “SALDEF is honored to receive this award from TSA leadership, and we greatly value this key partnership”, said SALDEF Executive Director Jasjit Singh.  “While we haven’t seen eye-to-eye on all issues, this partnership has been key in making advances to improve the travel experiences of all Americans. We look to continue to partner with our colleagues at TSA to ensure that we not only protect our nation’s travelers, but also their civil rights.” The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) was also recognized for their years of partnership and community advocacy with the TSA following the creation of the agency in November of 2001.