(Washington, DC) – The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund celebrates President Biden’s Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government. While major steps have been taken since the President issued Executive Order 13985 to advance racial equity, members of underserved communities like Asian Americans, native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) still face structural barriers in accessing the same economic opportunity as other historically privileged groups.
“We have been working in partnership with the White House and other federal agencies since Executive Order 13985 was signed. While we are proud of the real, meaningful steps that have been taken, we are also grateful that the President acknowledges much more work remains to create an equitable America,” said Kiran Kaur Gill, executive director of SALDEF. “We are appreciative of the requirements around building equity that are being integrated into every agency’s operations, like Agency Equity Teams producing Equity Action Plans. SALDEF is well positioned to collaborate with federal agencies to decrease barriers in accessing civil services, develop greater sensitivity and equity in data-based and algorithmic service delivery, and help strengthen civil rights protections for AANHPIs.”
Sikh Americans, in particular, continue to face among the highest per capita rates of harassment and discrimination in the country. The President’s recommitment to advancing equity addresses many areas in which our communities have been left behind:
- Linguistically and culturally sensitive proactive outreach would clarify the resources and rights the federal government can provide through its agencies in matters of employment-related or religious discrimination.
- A careful eye on how algorithmic and/or artificial intelligence systems can discriminate by overlooking and/or falsely categorizing minorities, especially since AANHPIs are an extraordinarily diverse group that is too often aggregated in the data used to determine service delivery.
- Greater awareness of how minority communities are left out of government processes intended to help them, particularly grants and resources for security or to build economic power.
We are grateful to the Biden Administration for their focus on these issues. As SALDEF continues to support the administration in achieving an equitable America for all Americans, our most fervent hope is that the President’s comments on this work being generational hold true. Sikh Americans and other AANHPI groups are very aware of the gaps that can exist between the top levels of the federal government and the boots on the ground in our communities. While we are delighted with the progress being made at the uppermost reaches of our system, we are committed to making sure these transformational attitudes ultimately pervade and define all levels of government and all levels of agencies, be they federal, state, or municipal. President Biden’s leadership has already created tangible progress, and SALDEF looks forward to continuing the work.