Washington, DC— A poster explaining Sikh head-coverings was recently produced in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF). The poster is entitled Common Sikh American Head Coverings and provides a brief introduction to the Sikh religion and protocol to follow security screening by law enforcement officials. “[The posters] represent the Department of Justice’s continued efforts to educate government officials about the practices and beliefs of vulnerable minorities,” wrote Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, R. Alexander Acosta, in a letter to SALDEF. “Not only does this lead to greater understanding, but it also helps our officers do their jobs better. Thank you for your assistance in developing these posters and bringing this project to fruition.” The full-color, glossy posters are 24 inches long and 18 inches wide. They were produced following SALDEF’s regular participation in meetings with Assistant Attorney General Acosta’s working group about post-9/11 issues. The DOJ has produced 10,000 copies of the posters, which will be distributed to local, state and federal law enforcement officials. “We are extremely pleased that the DOJ not only took the initiative to produce these posters but will be distributing them to law enforcement officials across the country,” said SALDEF National Director Preetmohan Singh. “Our Law Enforcement Partnership Program has trained thousands of first-responders and this will reinforce information for some and provide a straight-forward introduction for others.” To view a copy of the poster, please click here.
Assistant Attorney General Thankful for Partnership
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) recently invited SMART to present its Sikhism 101 for Law Enforcement training program as part of its annual conference in Kansas City, MO. SMART’s National Director Preetmohan Singh presented the curriculum introducing law enforcement officials to the Sikh faith and its articles of faith. The audience included representatives from police departments, community-based organizations, and other faith groups from across the nation involved with the COPS program. This curriculum has already been presented to over 4,000 law enforcement officials, with over 90 percent of them stating that it will help them better perform their duties. SMART is working with COPS to further expand this training to increase effective partnerships between the law enforcement and Sikh communities nationally.
The New York Police Department has dropped it opposition to Sikh Americans from serving with their turbans and uncut beards, mandatory articles of the Sikh faith. Jasjit Singh Jaggi had filed a complaint last year with the Commission on Human Rights accusing the New York Police Department of religious discrimination. He claimed he was forced to resign because he refused to shave his beard and stop wearing a turban. The commission ordered the police department to reinstate Jaggi last month, and the city had until Thursday to appeal the ruling. The city of New York decided to not appeal the decision by the Commission on Human Rights. Jasjit Singh Jaggi will now be reinstated to serve as traffic officer for the New York Police Department (NYPD) after appropriate accomodations have been worked out. Also, NY Newsday reported yesterday that the city of New York would settle a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, by Amric Singh Rathour, over the same issue. Addtionally, Jagjit Singh became the first turbaned Sikh to graduate from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department’s program for reserve officers. SMART congratulates the efforts of Panthic Cause, Sikh Coalition and the California Sikh Council for their support of these Sikhs in their quest to serve in law enforcement. SMART has trained over 5,000 local, state, and federal officers through its Law Enforcement Partnership Program and can now refer future trainees to uniformed Sikh police officers in the United States.
SMART’s Western Regional Director Kavneet Singh recently testified before the California State Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes. The session was organized by the Applied Research Center and entitled, “California Civil Rights in an Era of National Security.” Attendees included representatives of the Asian Pacific, Black and Latino Legislative Caucuses. The event was organized to create a public record of the impact of national security policies on communities of color in California, assess the impact of some national security policies on civil rights, and explore policies to ensure protection for all California residents. SMART conducted the briefings at the State Capitol with representatives of the ACLU, California Human Relations Commissions, public policy advocates, and other civil rights organizations. If you would like to become more active with SMART’s legislative efforts, please email us at legislation@sikhmediwatch.org.
Following racist graffiti at a Fresno, CA Gurdwara earlier this year, SMART National Director Preetmohan Singh recently accompanied local representatives from the Sikh American community at a meeting with the city’s police chief. Participants discussed building better relationships between law enforcement and the Sikh American community through increased awareness, protocol, and strategies for successful engagement between both groups. Following the meeting, which also included four of the five district commanders for the city, Fresno officials requested and received 1,000 of SMART’s Law Enforcement Reference Cards. This pocket-sized card provides police officers recommendations about protocol for effectively working with the Sikh American community. SMART and the Fresno Sikh American community are also working on implementing plans to reduce bullying and harassment faced by Sikh American students in public schools.
In the last several weeks, SMART has met with senior officials at the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies. These meetings have involved discussions about no-fly lists and training federal employees to ensure awareness of the Sikh articles of faith. During these meetings, SMART was assured that the Transportation Security Administration, which now oversees approximately 45,000 airport screeners, is using its resources to train current and new employees. Furthermore, since September 11, 2001, SMART has been part of a small working group headed by FBI Director Robert Muller, that meets regularly to address hate crimes and other law enforcement related issues of concern to the Sikh, Arab, and Muslim American communities. Although recent statistics indicate a reduction in the number of hate crimes, SMART is aware that many of these incidents go unreported with in our own community. Therefore, SMART will continue to work with the law enforcement and Sikh community to report, investigate, and prosecute hate crimes across the U.S.
California Assembly member Judy Chu, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes, recently convened two hearings to hear testimony and policy recommendations on hate crimes in the Sikh American Community. The hearings took place in both Northern and Southern California and community members testified regarding specific hate incidents including bullying and harassment in school, their places of work, and Sikh Gurdwaras. SMART’s Western Regional Director Kavneet Singh delivered testimony and organized other members of the Sikh American community to speak about their experiences in Northern California on September 22. On September 28, in Southern California, SMART local representative Nitasha Kaur Sawhney testified about the impact on the community, especially drawing attention to the severe effect on Sikh children, as well as the physical, economic, mental, and spiritual impact hate violence is having on the community at large. The hearings also included policy recommendations regarding reporting practices and resources provided by local and national governmental agencies. The testimony highlighted the unresolved problem of recording hate crimes against Sikhs due to state and federal agencies not collecting data specifically on anti-Sikh incidents as they do for incidents against the Islamic and Jewish communities. Unfortunately, most hate crimes against Sikh Americans are recorded as “other.” Another focus of this hearing included policy recommendations related to education, including the use of current resources and development of additional diversity curriculum. In addition to SMART, panelists at the hearing included representatives from the Office of the Attorney General, FBI, LA County Sheriff’s Department, Asian Law Caucus, California Sikh Council, Sikh Coalition, San Jose and San Francisco Police Departments, UCLA API Caucus, South Asian Network, Sikh Dharma, and the California Department of Education.
SMART Coordinating with Student, Law Enforcement Boston, MA – Following the seven-hour detention of a Sikh American student by the Secret Service before the Democratic National Convention this week, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART) is working with the student and law enforcement officials to address the incident. Sundeep Singh Sahni, a 21-year-old senior at Boston College, believes he was singled out by Secret Service agents staying on the campus last Saturday because of his turban and beard. “I was humiliated because I knew I was being targeted because of my appearance,” said Sahni. “But now it’s wonderful that my college officials and SMART are standing by me to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone again.” The incident occurred shortly after 6 pm when someone on the campus reported Sahni and his two friends as suspicious persons to the Boston College police. The students showed their identification and explained their status as current and former international students to the campus police. Before they could continue with their evening, however, Secret Service agents staying on campus for the DNC arrived on the scene. Sahni and his property was then searched for weapons and bombs and he was questioned until 1:30 am by Secret Service agents. Sahni said one of the agents told him, “I don’t want you pulling an Uzi from your turban.” “We understand that law enforcement is on a heightened state of alert during high-profile events such as the DNC,” said SMART National Director Preetmohan Singh. “But to single out a student on his college campus, detain him for several hours, and make offensive comments about his faith is extremely disconcerting. We believe Sundeep and his friends deserve an apology and we are seeking assurances that this treatment is not repeated.” SMART has notified the Secret Service offices in Washington, DC and the US Department of Justice. Boston College officials are seeking a meeting with Secret Service officials to obtain an apology. News of this incident came on the heels of an announcement by the New York Police Department yesterday allowing Sikh Americans to serve as traffic enforcement agents with their religiously-mandated beards and turbans. Furthermore, SMART has conducted awareness training for over 5,000 local, state, and federal officers about the Sikh American community through its Law Enforcement Partnership Program.
Law Enforcement Partnership Program Moving Forward Washington, DC— Over 5,000 local, state, and federal law enforcement officials have now been trained through SMART’s Sikhism 101 for Law Enforcement training under the organization’s Law Enforcement Partnership Program (LEPP). These trainings build better relationships between law enforcement and local Sikh American communities through awareness of practices and protocol. This summer, the training program has been presented in Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Washington, and Texas. SMART President Manjit Singh said, “Many Sikh Americans are traveling and others work in highly visible public positions such as cab drivers, convenience store workers and gas station operators. With the financial support of the Sikh American community, we can continue expanding this program and to accurately inform first-responders about our faith and practices.” The interactive program includes a 25-slide PowerPoint presentation, videos, and visual aids of Sikh articles of faith. More than a dozen such seminars have been organized around the country with SMART staff and volunteers since last summer when SMART concluded a nationwide, six-city partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service (CRS). Over 95 percent of law enforcement agents who have attending the training, have indicated that the training they receive from SMART will help them better serve and protect their communities. SMART, the oldest national Sikh American civil rights organization, has presented this program to over 100 agencies including: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents; Department of Transportation Security Administration personnel; representatives of U.S. Attorney’s offices; federal counter-terrorism task force officials, and local law enforcement officials, including the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department and the New York Police Department. Following the flurry of post-9/11 hate crimes that affected the Sikh American community, SMART has also created a special publication. This pocket reference card provides law enforcement officials recommended protocols for the appropriate handling of the Sikh turban and kirpan.
Washington, DC – Attorney General John Ashcroft met with SMART and representatives of other Arab and Muslim American civil rights organizations on Wed. June 23 to discuss continued collaboration with law enforcement and the Sikh American community. Mr. Ashcroft praised SMART for its law enforcement training efforts and stated that he would work to highlight these and other collaborative efforts in his public statements. “This meeting was an important opportunity to offer SMART’s assistance at the highest level of our government to ensure that the Sikh American and other communities are treated with respect when they interact with federal agencies,” said Preetmohan Singh, SMART’s National Director. “Through these efforts, government representatives at at all levels are gaining an understanding about the Sikh American community. While there are problems that persist, we always highlight the positive contributions our community has been making to this nation for over a century.” The meeting was facilitated by R. Alexander Acosta, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, whose office has coordinated monthly federal interagency meetings to address Sikh, Arab, and Muslim American issues. At the meeting, SMART presented a summary of recent cases, including instances of employment discrimination, continuing hate crimes, and immigration guidelines regarding photos with turbans. Federal agencies represented at the meeting included Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), the Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Treasury Department, the Department of Justice Community Relations Service (CRS), and the FBI. Other organizations taking part in the meeting were the Arab American Institute (AAI), the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and the Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights (Karamah).