SMART Collaborates with Alabama ACLU, Muslim Community Washington, DC— A discriminatory policy requiring Sikh Americans in Alabama to remove their turban for driver’s license photographs has been overturned. The revision of the policy, which also affected adherents of other faiths who wear head-coverings, was overturned following successful collaborative advocacy from the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), the Alabama Sikh Sangat, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Alabama Muslim community. “As soon as we were contacted by the Alabama Sikh community last month, we were confident this policy would be overturned,” said SMART National Director Preetmohan Singh. “The successful outcome in this instance was the result of joint efforts with the ACLU, the Alabama Muslim community, and above all the Alabama Sikh community.” In a joint statement, the organizations stated, “We are pleased that the Department of Public Safety has adopted a revised policy that complies with state and federal law and is mindful of every citizen’s constitutional right to freely exercise his or her religion.” SMART was informed of the policy earlier this month when Chitratan Singh, an Alabama Sikh student, was unable to obtain his driver’s license because he would not remove his turban. The old policy, under which no head-coverings could be worn in a driver’s license photograph, made no exception for religious head-coverings, even though none of them obscured facial features. As SMART’s Office of Legal Affairs researched the issue to provide relief for Chitratan Singh, they learned that the ACLU and the Alabama Muslim community had already begun mobilizing in the state. SMART wrote to Alabama officials and joined the ACLU’s effort to send a “Memorandum of Law.” “We knew we had the law on our side on this issue,” said Kimberly Parker, an attorney with the ACLU of Alabama. “It was an absolute pleasure to partner with SMART and the Sikh community to ensure that all Alabamans retain their religious freedom.” Throughout the effort, Rajinder Singh Mehta, a NASA engineer and Alabama resident for 35 years, coordinated SMART’s efforts by testifying at the State Capitol and keeping the Alabama community informed of the ongoing efforts. “I knew I could count on SMART’s staff to ask for written testimony or an update on the efforts,” said Mehta. “I am proud to have worked in such a united way, and am so happy to learn this policy has been changed.”
