Have you recently applied for a new driver’s license, gone in to renew yours or been for another reason? If you have we would like to hear about your experience. Please take a few minutes to fill out this form so we can make sure your rights have not been violated.
The only way to make a change is to call out injustice. If you wear a Turban, a Chunni or any form of head-covering for religious purposes you have the right to wear it in your Driver’s License picture. If a DMV has asked you to sign any form confirming you wear a head covering and that you do not remove it unless under extraordinary circumstance please let us know by either filling out this form or by emailing us at media@saldef.org.
As always, we’re on the front-lines. We are making sure that our community’s concerns and needs are being addressed. Whether it’s training and recruiting new volunteers, passing legislation to condemn hate crimes, or holding events we exist to serve you.
This week’s 2019 SikhLEAD Summer Internship Spotlight features Kamalpreet Cheema & Jaskaran Singh!
Here is what they had to say about their SikhLEAD Experience:
Kam: Hi, my name is Kam Cheema, I am a third-year at the University of California San Diego, and I interned with Senator Kamala Harris.
Jaskaran: My name is Jaskaran Singh, I am a Sophomore at The University of Texas at Austin, and I interned with the SALDEF office.
How did you find out about SikhLEAD?
Kam: I had a friend who was a part of the 2015 SikhLEAD Cohort and he told me that it was the best experience of his undergraduate career, so I thought that it should be something that I should look into.
What did you get out of SikhLEAD?
Jaskaran: I met a ton of cool people here at the SALDEF Office. Also, I attended a lot of hearings, learned about how SALDEF works and talked to many Congressmen. I believe that the connections I received from this organization will help me with my college career and beyond.
SALDEF participated on a panel at the 70th International Association of Human Right Agencies event held Tuesday, August 20th. The panel entitled “Empowered and undivided by our different religious beliefs,” discussed pressing community issues, hate crimes based on religious beliefs and against minorities, and mass shootings. SALDEF Regional Director Navtej S. Khalsa added that “Even though there is the separation of church and state in the United States, there should be education in public schools on the various faiths to eradicate ignorance.”
A Rockford woman is suing the Illinois secretary of state in an attempt to change a state rule requiring those who wear religious head covering in their driver’s license photo to also certify that they do not normally remove that head covering in public. The current regulation states that the person must sign an acknowledgment that he or she does not typically “remove the head dressing in public as a matter of courtesy or protocol.” Previously, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund and CAIR worked together to encourage the secretary of state’s office to send flyers to DMV employees to remind them that people do not have to remove religious headwear when taking official photos.
On Sunday, August 25th Paramjit Singh was stabbed to death when walking though Gretchen Talley Park in Tracy, California at around 9 pm. Tracy police do not have a clear suspect yet and are asking for the community’s help in identifying a man who was captured on video hopping a fence and running away from the park around the time when the incident took place. Singh left behind his two kids and three grandkids. Singh’s daughter, Mohandavinder Singh Kang added that “He was a very loving person. I can’t believe that he’s not here with me.”
Punjabi Dhaba in Bakersfield, California is reminiscent of dhabas in India and Pakistan. The restaurant is located on the roadside, next to a truck wash and a repair shop. “If you were tired and bleary-eyed from the road, like so many of the drivers who parked their big rigs in the lot behind Punjabi Dhaba, it was a luxurious break from fast-food chains and gas-station snacks.”
Shaquille O’ Neal recently spent a day at the Khalsa Care Foundation in Pacoima, California. Sikh American actor and model Amandeep Singh, who hosted the former Lakers and Heat legend at the gurdwara, described the experience as greatly satisfying. Singh added, “Shaq was so eager to learn about the Sikh community and met the community members with so much love.”
On September 8th, Festival of Faiths, a celebration of interfaith understanding and collaboration will take place in Cincinnati. Along with a Sikh martial art demonstration, the festival will feature faith-based presentations, artists, service opportunities, activities, and community conversations for all ages.
Despite the rise of hate crimes in the U.S., Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina and Wyoming are the only states in the country that do not provide any protection for victims of hate crimes or concrete penalties for offenders. According to a spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League, “The biggest roadblock to hate crime laws in those states is the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Following concerns raised by several ethnic minority groups, The California Department of Education is revising its draft curriculum for ethnic studies. Samir Kalra, managing director of the Hindu American Foundation noted that the curriculum does not note that Sikh Americans were one of the first minorities to come to the state or that Sikh Americans in the Sutter/Yuba county area helped build the state’s large agricultural sector. The current draft curriculum does refer to Sikhs and other South Asians twice in a portion that deals with the rise of hate crimes after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Trump administration’s new change to U visas will make immigrants far less likely to report serious crimes, according to immigration attorneys.“The U visa was created in 2000 by a bipartisan majority in Congress….to provide protection for immigrant survivors in coming forward and seeking protection.” The new directive allows ICE to deport pending U visa applicants at their discretion.
