1. SALDEF Speaks at Nation”s Top Law Schools
2. SALDEF Participates on Interfaith Panel at UC Berkeley
3. SALDEF Discussion on Warner Bros DVD
4. Get Your 2009 Sikh American Pocket Calendars Today
5. SALDEF Organizes Know Your Rights Forum in Atlanta
6. SALDEF Urges Oklahoma Senate to Support Religious Freedom
7. Upcoming Events
SALDEF Speaks at Nation”s Top Law Schools
On February 21, 2009, SALDEF participated in a panel discussion at Yale Law School at the 15th Annual Rebellious Lawyering Conference. Additionally, on February 12, 2009 SALDEF gave a presentation about its work to students and professors at the William & Mary Law School under the auspices of the Institute of Bill of Rights Law. The presentation featured a screening of On Common Ground, the law enforcement training video co-produced by SALDEF and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The discussion at Yale focused on the causes of hate crimes against East Asians, South Asians, and Middle Eastern Americans in recent decades. According to SALDEF Legal Director Rajdeep Singh Jolly, these challenges stem from, “a toxic mixture of xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism, and a powerful ignorance of the sort that relegates Arabs, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and South Asians to a single monochrome storage bin in the minds of the narrow-minded.” After recounting numerous examples of hate crimes and discrimination against Sikh Americans in recent years, SALDEF closed its presentation as follows:
“The progressive – and some might say rebellious – doctrine of the Sikh religion foreshadowed the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the women”s rights movement, and the American civil rights movement by several centuries. In principle, at least ideologically speaking, Sikhs may be the most Americans of Americans. How ironic then that they should be subjected to violence in a county whose highest ideals the Sikhs have for much longer considered their own.”
SALDEF Participates on Interfaith Panel at University of California – Berkeley
On February 12, SALDEF Managing Director Kavneet Singh was invited to sit on a panel at the University of California, Berkeley to discuss the Role of Faith in Times of Crisis. The program, which was held in conjunction with the campus” annual Interfaith Week, was sponsored by the Associated Student Bodty of UC Berkeley and designed to explore faith”s positive influence in supporting people during challenging times. Over twenty students participated in the interactive session with representatives from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities. Mr. Singh spoke about the role of sangat (community) and seva (selfless service) in the Sikh tradition and how as a Sikh one is mandated to be engaged in giving back to their community.
SALDEF Discussion on Warner Bros DVD
Last fall, SALDEF objected to the use of the racial slur “towelhead” as the title of a Warner Bros motion picture. Because the word has historically been used in a manner that has led to violence against Sikhs in the United States, SALDEF felt that mass-market saturation of the word was tasteless and offensive, especially because the underlying film had little to do with race and more to do with the graphic sexual exploitation of a teenage girl. Because of the controversy surrounding the word, SALDEF participated in a taped about the issue with Academy Award winning screenwriter Alan Ball—the film’s director—and Alicia Erian—the author of the book on which the film was based. The discussion focused on racism, corporate social responsibility, and the absence of Sikhs in Hollywood, and is now included in its entirety on the DVD version of the film.
Reviews of the debate have been positive, and film fans around the country have written to SALDEF to express gratitude for clarifying the significance of the Sikh turban and the nature of the challenges faced by Sikhs in the post-9/11 environment. According to one critic who reviewed the DVD version of the film:
Ironically enough, the DVD”s single special feature offers a lot more provocative and intelligent food for thought than the film proper, and those actually looking for the film suggested by the title will actually get the smart, deep dissection they were expecting. The 80-minute “Towelhead: A Community Discussion” is actually two separate panel discussions regarding the title. The first, lasting 30 minutes and moderated by Ball and featuring Bishil, Macdissi, and Hussam Ayloush of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) brings up a lot of thoughtful points about racial slurs and the role of minorities in the media, but that”s a mere warm-up for the main event, an impassioned discussion with Ball, Erian, and Rajdeep Singh Jolly, Legal Director of Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF). Jolly so eloquently attacks the issue of the title, its potential effects, and the judgment and responsibility of the entertainment industry that Ball and Erian often seem ill-equipped and at a loss for defenses.”
Get Your 2009 Sikh American Pocket Calendars
In their sixth year of production, the 2009 SALDEF pocket calendars have been fully redesigned to include updated full-color images of SIkh Americans along with more examples of core Sikh values and facts about Sikhs in the United States. On the back, the calendars have a 2009 calendar in a small, handt, easy-to-use design. The calendars are available in packages of 100 for just $10 plus shipping and handling.
SALDEF Organizes Know Your Rights Forum in Atlanta
On January 25, 2009, with the support of the Sikh Study Circle Inc, SALDEF conducted its latest Know Your Rights Forum. The Forum was attended by community members and representatives from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. Department of Justice, Georgia Department of Education, and the Atlanta Police Department. Since 2005, SALDEF has organized Know Your Rights workships for Sikh American communities in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and Texas. These educational forums not only allow Sikh Americans to learn about their rights and interact with government officials but also enable government agencies to learn about the Sikh religion and ongoing challenges faced by Sikh Americans, including hate crimes, employment discrimination, and school bullying. To learn more about these educational forums or to organize one for your local community, contact SALDEF at education@saldef.org.
SALDEF Urges Oklahoma Senate to Protect Religious Freedom
On March 3, 2009, SALDEF issued a community advisory and petition about the passage of a bill (HB1645) in the Oklahoma House of Representatives that aims to “strictly prohibit” individuals from wearing “head scarves” and “head garments” in driver’s license photographs. Because the legislation does not exempt religious headcoverings, the civil rights of observant Sikhs who wear dastaars (Sikh turbans) are in jeopardy. Observant Jews, Muslims, and Christians are also threatened, as are other individuals who are required to wear religious headcoverings. SALDEF has alerted several federal agencies, members of Congress, civil rights organizations, and interfaith groups to the dangers posed by HB1645 and will continue to build opposition to the bill. Because of the media pressure applied by SALDEF and other organizations so far, Senator Roger Ballenger—one of the original sponsors of the legislation in the Oklahoma Senate—has withdrawn his support. As a result, the bill faces an uncertain future in the Oklahoma Senate.
- Please help us ensure that HB1645 is thoroughly rejected by contacting Senator Cliff Branan — Chairman of the Transportation Committee in the Oklahoma State Senate. Encourage him to defend religious freedom for all Americans in Oklahoma. You can reach him by telephone at (405) 521-5543 or by email at branan@oksenate.gov. Always be polite and respectful in your comments, but do emphasize that virtually every state in the country (including Oklahoma) and the federal government permit Sikh Americans to wear religious headcoverings in identification photographs.
- Click here to watch local news coverage about HB1645, including a provocative explanation of the bill by one of its supporters — Rep. Wade Rousselot —who suggests that religious minorities should either abide by the rules of this country or forgo the privilege of a driver’s license. Please contact Rep. Wade Rousselot and politely remind him that the rules of this country permit Sikh Americans to wear religious headcoverings in identification photographs.