After being initially denied entry into the Club Rio Nightclub and Restaurant in Tempe, AZ, two Sikh Americans worked with SMART to ensure the establishment’s “no hats” policy would not apply to religiously-mandated head-coverings. The students contacted SMART after the incident and the organization added this latest case to a series of others it has successfully resolved in Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio. As a civil rights organization, SMART does not express judgment on the practice of a person’s faith when they enter such an establishment. SMART, however, takes on these cases to ensure that Sikh Americans are not humiliated by being denied admission when their turbans are equated with hats. If you, or someone you know, have faced similar accommodation issues, please immediately contact SMART’s Office of Legal Affairs at legal@sikhmediwatch.org.
