Sikh American Spotlight: Darsh Preet Singh Gives Sikh Americans More to Cheer About During March Madness Want to be on TV? Send SALDEF Your Pictures or Video Today! SikhLEAD Spotlight: SikhLEAD Intern Assists on Smithsonian Project Apply Now: The Association of Sikh Professionals’ Scholarship Join L.A.’s Youth Ambassador Program and Become a Civic Leader Sikh American Drives Away With Victory in Minnesota SALDEF Addresses Howard Law School Students on Racial Profiling SALDEF Co-Sponsors Conference on Voting Rights Act in D.C. SALDEF Continues Law Enforcement Trainings in Boston SALDEF Welcomes Spring Intern Shopping With a Smile 
Sikh American Spotlight: Darsh Preet Singh Gives Sikh Americans More to Cheer About During March Madness As you fill out your bracket this year, you can be assured of one thing: Sikh Americans are celebrating Darsh Preet Singh, who courageously challenged the NCAA and scored big for the entire community! On February 25, the Smithsonian honored the former NCAA player for petitioning the National College Athletic Association—an organization that banned all headgear while playing basketball— to allow him to wear his turban. The National Museum of Natural History—which had over 7 million visitors last year— will be displaying his Trinity College uniform (as well as many other important Sikh artifacts) until August 2015. SALDEF congratulates Singh for staying a cut above the rest and rebounding after being challenged about his turban. Meet Darsh Preet Singh. Want to share something about your Sikh Sangat? Share your Sikh American Spotlight with SALDEF and the Sikh American community! Email SALDEF: info@saldef.org or tweet @saldef with #SikhMedia Want to be on TV? Send SALDEF Your Pictures or Video Today! 
Join SALDEF and be a part of a Sikh American PSA on Comcast Universal, the world’s largest media company. Now you can even send us your favorite Sikh American pictures! We invite you to submit video OR pictures— home movies or cell phone video/pictures are fine — doing what you love. What you’re good at. What you value. Show yourself driving a motorcycle. Bowling with friends. Volunteering at gurdwara. Volunteering in the community. Working at a bank, running a marathon, feeding a baby, coaching a team, raising a family, riding a horse, jumping out of a plane, driving a cab, driving a Ferrari, or meeting friends for lunch. It can be ordinary, it might be personal, but it should be visually compelling, and help to show the many ways Sikh Americans are unique yet integrated in American life and culture. Our goal is to use the pictures or highlights of your submissions in a video montage within the public service announcement. For instructions on submitting and releasing your pictures/video content (by March 7th, 2014), please click here. (Note that each person shown in a clip must submit a separate release.) Help us tell the story of the Sikh American community — OUR story — to mainstream America as early as this summer. Get creative and get started! Let’s tell our extraordinary Sikh American story together. SikhLEAD Spotlight: SikhLEAD Intern Assists on Smithsonian Project 
Brown University Junior, Nimita Kaur Uberoi, spent last summer with SALDEF’s SikhLEAD Leadership Program where she interned at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Washington, DC. While there, Uberoi received a unique opportunity to conduct research for a Smithsonian exhibition, completed an independent research project on the Sikh American Identity, and created social media content to promote the exhibition. The exhibition will be open to the public from February 2014 to August 2015 and features Sikh American artifacts including the jersey of former NCAA Sikh American Basketball player Darsh Preet Singh, the turban worn by the first post-9/11 hate crime victim Balbir Singh Sodhi, and a photo of the first Sikh American Congressman Dalip Singh Saund meeting with two former presidents. Uberoi credits SALDEF’s SikhLEAD program with helping her make connections that have helped her beyond her summer in D.C. “I was deciding between two internships last summer and took a leap of faith to go to D.C. The internship program was one of the best experiences of my life and the connections I made really helped me. My work at the Smithsonian helped me to understand the influential role of art and media not only as a way to break down stereotypes but also as a factor in future policy making. You think that people just spend an afternoon looking at an exhibit and it’s over, but actually the takeaway lasts far beyond.” Explore The Smithsonian Exhibit.
Want to share your thoughts? Email us at info@saldef.org or tweet @saldef with #SikhMedia
Apply Now: The Association of Sikh Professionals’ Scholarship 
The Association of Sikh Professionals is offering a scholarship to college bound students, ranging from $400 to $4000 per year. Awards are in the form of scholarships, grants through endowments, and interest-free loans (repayment expected after graduation). Financial need is taken into consideration, as well as academic ability and involvement in Sikh activities. All applicants must be attending, or should be admitted to an accredited course of study. All applications must be received through the application form available here. The deadline for new applicants is June 1, 2014 and June 28, 2014 for re-applicants. Results will be announced in September. Join L.A.’s Youth Ambassador Program and Become a Civic Leader 
On March 3, 2014 the City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission (City HRC) announced open enrollment for their exclusive and competitive, City of Los Angeles Youth Ambassador Program. The Youth Ambassador (Y.A.) initiative is a year long commitment, that targets high school youth (ages 14-17) and equips them with leadership skill-sets, expertise on the history of the city, and a global perspective on the importance of education, civic-engagement and volunteerism by using L.A.’s local government (Mayor and City Council) and it’s resources. Upon completion of the one-year commitment Youth Ambassador’s earn a one-week trip to Washington D.C., where they will have the opportunity to utilize their newly developed skill sets to represent the City of Los Angeles’ youth voice, have dialogue with Congressional leaders, meet with White House administration, and tour the National Monuments. This opportunity is for Los Angeles residents only. Interested students from the L.A. area must submit applications by the Friday, April 11, 2014 deadline. For more information please contact SALDEF Education Coordinator Jyotswaroop Kaur at info@saldef.org. Sikh American Drives Away With Victory in Minnesota 
In a win for Sikh Americans in Minnesota, Jatinder Singh and SALDEF successfully challenged the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services’ (DVS) driver’s license policy after Jatinder was told his turban was not allowed in his driver’s license photo, effectively barring him from renewing his license. After SALDEF contacted DVS to address the matte, Mr. Singh was able to successfully obtain his license with his articles of faith intact. DVS Director Patricia McCormick apologized and reminded all agents of their diverse religious policy accommodating religious articles of faith, including the Sikh American turban. SALDEF offered DVS religious accommodation and awareness training after working on similar issues in Georgia, California, and Oklahoma. To read more about SALDEF’s involvement here. SALDEF Addresses Howard Law School Students on Racial Profiling 
Last month, the SALDEF team was invited to address a class of Howard law students on racial profiling. On February 4, Policy Director Navdeep Singh, spoke to the group on racial profiling laws, constitutional protections, and the potential gaps that still exist. He provided the legal framework and discussed much-needed improvements that must come from the Department of Justice and legislation—the End Racial Profiling Act—to help limit some of the profiling that occurs today. On February 25, Executive Director Jasjit Singh spoke to a larger group of law students about the Sikh American experience related to racial profiling and how SALDEF has been working to combat prejudicial policies currently in place. SALDEF Co-Sponsors Conference on Voting Rights Act in D.C. On Feb 25, 2014, SALDEF co-sponsored an all day conference, “50 Years, A Defining Moment for Voting Rights,” hosted by the American Jewish Council, on the Voting Rights Act (VRA) at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. to discuss the history of the VRA, the importance of new legislation, and the impact of the case, Shelby v. Holder, which struck down important provisions that protected minority rights. The sponsors, VRA experts, and congressional leaders, considered the Voting Rights Act Amendment— new legislation that would enhance voting protection for people with limited English proficiency, and prevent states from discriminating against minorities by making all voting and district changes transparent by seeking federal approval for any changes— and how to get it passed. Leadership motivated attendees to mobilize as a united front in order to get bipartisan support for the new legislation. “This conference is not only about the need for progress on voting rights,” said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer in his keynote address. “It portrays a picture of cooperation among America’s diverse communities.” To learn more about VRA please click here. SALDEF Continues Law Enforcement Trainings in Boston 
On February 11, SALDEF Northeast Regional Director, Jaswant Chani, conducted a Sikh awareness training—one of a series of ongoing Sikh awareness trainings—for 30 members of the Metropolitan Bay Transit Authority Police Academy (MBTA) in Braintree, MA. The three hour 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 that SALDEF has had with law enforcement and the TSA to train officers across the Northeast under SALDEF’s Law Enforcement Partnership Program. 
SALDEF Welcomes Spring Intern SALDEF is excited to introduce our new Intern, Ramandeep Kaur. Ramandeep joins SALDEF’s Southern California office after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley in 2013 with a double major in Political Science and Ethnic Studies. While at Berkeley, Ramandeep was very active with the Sikh Students Association (SSA) and was even able to push for a Sikh American Studies class on the history of Sikh Americans. She also wrote her honors thesis on the affects of 9/11 on the Sikh American Identity, entitled, “Post 9/11 Sikh American Youth Identity Formation.” “I always wanted to intern at SALDEF while I was at Berkeley, but due to my schedule and coursework never had the right amount of time,” Ramandeep explains. “SALDEF’s education program really inspires me, and it made me want to help the organization and also serve the young American Sikhs in our community.” 
Shopping With a Smile Now you can shop on Amazon AND help SALDEF. It’s simple. Whenever you are ready to shop go to smile.amazon.com, add SALDEF to your favorite charity, and the company will automatically donate a percentage of the product purchase price to SALDEF. Now that is something to smile about!