June Advocate – SALDEF Meets with MA Governor

SALDEF Meets with Massachusetts Governor to Discuss Community Issues

In a meeting with Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts on May 24th, SALDEF Regional Director, Jaswant Singh Chani raised issues affecting the local Sikh American community.  In a written letter to the Governor, the following issues were raised: 1) The inclusion of Sikhism in middle school curriculum, 2) The inclusion of an Anti-Sikh category in hate crime reporting statistics and 3) Sikh Americans to serve as police officers while maintaining their articles of faith.  The meeting was attended by community leaders of other faiths and nationalities.

Washington DC Police Department First to Fully Accommodate Sikh Officers

Last month SALDEF spearheaded a groundbreaking and pioneering effort by partnering with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to secure policy changes allowing for observant Sikh Americans to become full-fledged police officers without compromising their articles of faith.  Under the new uniform guidelines, Sikh American police officers can maintain their articles of faith while on duty, including their turbans and beards. The guidelines remove barriers to employment often faced by Sikh Americans in other public safety positions. Washington, DC, is now the largest city in the United States in which Sikh Americans can become full-time uniformed police officers, joining their counterparts across the world.

SALDEF Continues Advocacy for Sikh American Youth

On Thursday, May 24th, SALDEF, along with partners from the National Safe Schools Partnership met with a number of Congressional Representatives” offices in our continued effort to gain support for the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA).  If enacted, SSIA will require schools to implement comprehensive anti-bullying policies that address bullying and harassment and ensure the safety and well being of all their students. There are currently 158 supporters in the House and 41 in the Senate.  To make sure your Congressman supports SSIA today,click here!

If you or someone you know is facing bullying and harassment issues at school,contact SALDEF immediately.

SALDEF Hosts Successful Know Your Rights Forum in Seattle, WA

On May 14th, a Know Your Rights Forum was successfully hosted in Washington state for over 200 members of the Greater Seattle area sangat.  Issues concerning workplace discrimination, school bullying, hate crimes, and public accommodations were presented and discussed. Representatives from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Seattle Police Department, Hate/Biased Based Crimes Unit spoke to the sangat about how to file the proper complaints regarding workplace discrimination, hate crimes, biased-based incidents and more.  SALDEF would like to offer our thanks to the Gurdwara management committee of Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Renton, WA for their support and assistance of this event.

If you would like to have a Know Your Rights Forum hosted in your local community, please  contact us.

SALDEF Presents at California API Policy Summit

For the second year in a row, SALDEF was privileged to present at the California API Policy Summit in Sacramento, CA. On April 30th, SALDEF co-hosted a workshop with CAIR-LA on advocacy and community building. Entitled, Powermapping: Leveraging the Policy Environment, the workshop aimed at setting the framework for addressing community issues and solving these problems through leveraging relationships and networks.  The workshop also guided participants who are currently working to combat local and federal issues, such as law enforcement policing issues and workplace discrimination, facing the Sikh and Muslim American communities today. The Summit had over 400 attendees and featured discussions on key issues and policy proposals affecting the Asian American community, and action based incentives for community and civil rights advocacy organizations.

Asian Pacific American May Heritage Month Celebrated with Civil Rights Summit

On May 9, 2012, SALDEF participated in the  Summit at the Capitol in Washington, DC.  As part of this summit, SALDEF assisted in a civil rights round table discussion featuring speakers from the around the country discussing topics related to voter rights and suppression and racial and religious profiling.

Additionally, at this summit, NCAPA released Our Communities, Our Priorities, Our Country: 2012 Policy Blueprint for Action, an introduction to six top priority issue areas of concern for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community with recommendations for stakeholders, policymakers, and community leaders. To view a copy of the report, .

SALDEF Works with Civil Rights Groups in Monitoring LAPD SARs Program

Earlier this month Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Deputy Chief Michael Downing agreed to make some recommended changes to Special Order 1 and the  program.  Local advocacy groups, including ACLU-SC, MPAC, CAIR and others have been engaging with LAPD officials to make necessary changes to the SARs program. In March, the advocacy groups sent a letter to LAPD urging that the agency halt Special Order 1 (SO1) until civil liberties concerns were adequately addressed.  Chief Downing agreed to important changes to the policy, including: clarifying that the policy does not authorize collection or sharing of information on less than reasonable suspicion of criminal or terrorist activity, and that the constitutional requirements for pat-downs, detentions and searches apply equally when investigating suspicious activity.

The groups will continue to push for these and additional changes, as necessary, to ensure the preservation of Angelenos’ civil liberties with respect to LAPD’s SAR program.  To read the joint statement,click here.

To report any issues with law enforcement in your area, contact us.

APIA Vote Summer Internship Opportunity—Spend the Summer in Washington DC!

The Asian Pacific Islander American Vote Project is looking for passionate college students to fill 5 paid internship positions during this summer in Washington DC.  The APIAVote Internship Program strives to encourage and cultivate young AAPI student leaders to explore a career in the public sector or the political arena. This internship program will also provide hands on experience and training on how to organize and implement voter activities to increase the participation of AAPIs in the electoral process.  These internships focus specially on youth leadership and activism, SALDEF encourages interested applicants to contact us if interested (disregard the deadline listed on the website).

SALDEF Engages with Orange County Youth via Interfaith Panel

On May 31, SALDEF participated in an Interfaith religious panel at Laguna Hills High School, along with panelists from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Mormon, and Muslim communities. The panelists provided insightful perspectives on various spiritual and religious paths. Community Relations Associate, Birpal Kaur, presented on the Sikh faith to over 100 high school seniors, who had prepared questions on theology, religious practices, and interfaith efforts, and educated the students about misconceptions and the core beliefs within Sikhism. Members of the faculty and school board representatives were also in attendance in support of this annual panel to bring different perspectives of faith to the graduating students, who all received SALDEF publications.

If you would like to coordinate a presentation at your high school, or in your local community, please contact us.

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