SMART Representative Tejinder Singh recently conducted the Sikhism 101: An Introduction to Sikh Culture, Practices and Beliefs for a dozen members of the Tri City Ministerial Association at its monthly meeting in Fremont, CA. The TCMA is a group of ministers casino online real money and religious leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area that work together to carry out interfaith events and support each other”s religious centers. SMART also talked with the TCMA members about possible in-house workshops at their respective houses of worship.
Religious Leaders Learn about Sikhism in California
The Applied Research Center recently released the report of their third “The Public’s Truth” event held in Santa Clara, CA. SMART co-sponsored and presented at the event, which was a forum for community members of different races, colors and religions to communicate with legislators and civic officials about the ill-effects they have endured since 9/11. Speakers at the event shared their personal experiences of direct harassment and discrimination they faced from law enforcement, airport security, workplace supervisors and immigration officials. SMART’s representative, who is featured in the report, discussed the Sikh community’s response to hate crimes. The Applied Research Center is a public policy, educational and research institute whose work emphasizes issues of race and social change. The report is titled “Stories of Racial Profiling & The Attack on Civil Liberties.”
Students at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine recently invited SMART to present about the prevalence of hate crimes and strategies to prevent these incidents. National Director Preetmohan Singh addressed the issue of post-9/11 hate crimes targeting those were who are or appeared to be from the Middle East.
The National Council of Jewish Women recently invited SMART to speak at its annual Washington Institute. SMART’s National Director, Preetmohan Singh, addressed conference attendees about effectively lobbying members of Congress to pass pending federal legislation designed to combat hate crimes. Mr. Singh was joined by Michael Lieberman, Washington Counsel for the Anti-Defamation League and Julie Fernandes, Senior Policy Analyst for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Mr. Singh also represented SMART at the Mid-Atlantic Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA) conference at the University of Pennsylvania. He addressed the audience about pre- and post-9/11 racial profiling and SMART’s efforts within a broad civil rights coalition to pass the End Racial Profiling Act of 2004. Other presenters included Thomas Joo, a law professor at the University of California, Davis; Alberta Lee, a law student and daughter of Wen Ho Lee; and Jan Ting, a law professor at Temple University.
Panelist Discusses Recent Incidents, Community Outreach and Prevention Washington, DC – Earlier this week, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a national Sikh civil rights organization, conducted a congressional briefing about hate crime and effective strategies for outreach and prevention. The briefing, entitled “Violence Against South Asians since 9/11”, took place on Capitol Hill August 23 and was sponsored by the offices of Representatives Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Joe Wilson (R-SC). Preetmohan Singh, SMART’s National Director, stated that since 9/11 the Sikh American community has experienced over 400 hate crimes, including verbal and physical threats, aggravated assaults, and shootings. Amnesty International recently reported that only one of nine hate crimes is reported in the United States. Experts state that reporting in the South Asian community is even lower primarily due to the lack of access, language barriers and immigration status issues. As recently as July 5, Gurpreet Singh, a Sikh cab driver in Richmond, CA, was shot and killed when attempting to pick his fare. Although local law enforcement officials have yet to determine if race bias was a motive, Mr. Singh stated that in the absence of such a declaration, many in the Sikh community assume a hate crime, as on May 19, when Avtar Singh Chiera was shot in Phoenix, AZ, by assailants who shouted “Go back to were you belong.” Mr. Singh stressed that in addition to affecting the family and the individual, these incidents generate fear and anxiety in the Sikh community because these incidents are based on real or perceived religion or national origin. Mr. Singh shared SMART’s community education and outreach efforts to stress the importance of reporting bias and hate motivated incidents, and to take active measures in prevention. Some of the steps SMART and the Sikh American community have taken in the post-9/11 period include encouraging the community to increase its civic participation, increasing awareness about themselves among their neighbors, co-workers and collaborating with law enforcement to disseminate information about Sikh Americans. SMART also discussed the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act (S. 966), legislation that further empowers law enforcement to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. A representative of the South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT) also made comments and engaged in discussion with House Staff.
SMART to Monitor Investigation, Facilitate Community Outreach Richmond, CA–In response to recent shootings of two Sikh cab drivers in the Bay Area, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a national Sikh civil rights organization, recently facilitated a meeting between local and federal law enforcement officials, elected representatives, and cab drivers. Following the meeting, SMART was able to confirm good faith and diligent efforts by the Richmond Police Department regarding the cab driver shootings. The police are aggressively pursuing leads in the July 2 murder of Gurpreet Singh and the July 5 shooting of Inderjit Singh. The city of Richmond has announced a reward of $2,500 for tips leading to arrests in the shootings. El Sobrante Gurdwara has matched the city’s reward. Following the meeting, the Richmond police agreed to send officers to the El Sobrante Gurdwara to train cab drivers on how to effectively relay emergency calls to local police. Additionally drivers will be trained on how to deal with confrontational situations. Based on the cab drivers’ requests, city officials promised to consider the cab drivers’ suggestions for installing video cameras and glass partitions in cabs. Local law enforcement officials also agreed to consider new taxicab safety regulations to address safety concerns. Attendees at the multi-jurisdiction meeting included Richmond Police Chief Joseph Samuels, County Supervisor John Gioia, Department of Justice Representative Booker T. Neal, and El Sobrante Gurdwara President Harpreet Singh Sandhu, who was there on behalf of the local cab drivers seeking the Sikh community’s assistance in response to the shootings. SMART also discussed conducting awareness and protocol training it has conducted nationally with the Department of Justice to provide law enforcement officials with the necessary background and strategies to more effectively work with the Sikh community. Over thirty South Asian cab drivers, many of whom were Sikh, met at the El Sobrante Gurdwara in advance of the multi-jurisdiction meeting to express their concerns and develop an agenda for the meeting with city officials and law enforcement. Chief Samuels said he is hiring more dispatchers and officers, and invites Punjabi speaking applicants to apply for these positions. If you or someone you know is interested in working as a dispatcher or in joining the Richmond Police, please contact SMART at 202-393-2700. SMART will continue to update the community about the investigation and community relations efforts.
SMART Collaborating with Local, State, and Federal Authorities to Address Death Threats Received by Maryland Sikh Family Washington, DC—Responding to a pair of death threats received by a Sikh family in the Washington, DC metropolitan area three weeks ago, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a national civil rights organization, is organizing a community forum to discuss this and issues related to hate crimes with law enforcement officials. SMART is encouraging the DC-area Sikh community to attend the event this Wednesday, August 27 at 7 pm in Rockville, MD (details below). The pair of death threats stated, in part, that the family is believed to be “closely affiliated with the Taliban…[and] plan to kill you and your family members.” Since receiving the threats, SMART has been coordinating with the family and law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, to ensure investigation of these threats as bias-motivated incidents. The community forum, “Combating Hate Crimes,” is being organized in collaboration with local, state, and federal law enforcement officials and community groups to present information about how to effectively deal with such hate-motivated incidents. The event will serve a mutually educational purpose for community members and law enforcement, and will not be a forum where the affected family’s identity is revealed. Confirmed participants include representatives from the Department of Justice, DC Bias Crimes Task Force, Montgomery County Police Department, and representatives from the Sikh, Arab, Muslim, Jewish and other communities. If you live in the DC metropolitan area, please share information about this event with your family and friends. Additionally, please request your local gurdwara to make an announcement about the event and distribute copies of the event flyer (available online, see URL below) at the gurdwara.
Washington, DC – Leaders of national Sikh, Arab and Muslim organizations met with FBI Director Robert Mueller II on Wednesday, May 28 to discuss further partnerships with the community and the possible development of an advisory committee that would coordinate efforts at state and national levels. Last week’s meeting, a follow-up to the February 28, 2003 meeting, took place a week after a Sikh American truck driver was shot twice in a hate crime in Phoenix, AZ. “While we appreciate Director Mueller’s initiative to meet with us,“ said Manjit Singh, Chair of the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART) Board of Directors, “we want to ensure that preventative measures to reduce hate crimes take place hand-in-hand with investigation and prosecution, especially in light of the Phoenix incident last week.” Singh, who represented SMART, the oldest national Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, voiced the Sikh community’s concerns since the Phoenix incident on May 19, 2003. Following the shooting of Avtar Singh Chiera, the 52-year-old Sikh American who was shot after parking his 18-wheeler, SMART conducted training at the Phoenix Police Department headquarters for law enforcement officials and community leaders. SMART is encouraged that the FBI has responded positively to its suggestion of conducting similar religious awareness and protocol workshops at its training academy and at field offices across the country. Since September 2001, SMART has been reporting hate crimes and working closely with the FBI’s Washington, DC office and their various field offices. Following a meeting last February, the FBI issued a media release saying, “The FBI’s aggressive response to hate crimes has sent a clear message that vigilante attacks will not be tolerated. (Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks), the FBI has initiated 414 hate crime investigations involving Muslim, Sikh and Arab-American victims, with 17 persons being charged federally thus far. Additionally, some 129 persons have been charged with state and local crimes in connection with those investigations.” This meeting was the fourth in a series between the director and the leaders of national Muslim, Sikh and Arab-American organizations, though not all of them have been publicized. Others attending the meeting were representatives of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Arab American Institute, the Islamic Institute, the American Muslim Council, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Washington, DC — The Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a national Sikh American advocacy group, conducted a 90 minute presentation on Sikh Americans and Sikhism yesterday for local law enforcement in Charleston, West Virginia. This presentation was part of SMART’s ongoing efforts to educate federal government and local law enforcement agencies about Sikh Americans and Sikhism. The presentation offered a tutorial about the history and theology of the Sikh faith, and focused on breaking down common stereotypes and misperceptions of Sikh Americans. The presentation also highlighted the five articles of faith, giving special attention to the kirpan and turban. Additionally time was devoted to explaining the difference between Sikhs, and other commonly associated religions and cultural groups, stressing Sikh’s separate identity from Hindus, Muslims, and especially the Taliban. Attending the seminar were staff of the WV Attorney General’s office, WV Human Rights Commission, US Attorney for Southern District of WV, Director of WV Equal Employment Opportunity Office, FBI agents, US Marshals Service, officers of WV State Police, and officers from several WV city and county police departments. SMART believes that the most effective way to prevent further incidents of harassment of Sikh Americans, especially regarding domestic security issues, is continued education about Sikhism to federal agencies, local authorities, and community leaders. SMART will continue to offer such seminars to other federal agencies in the future.
Washington, DC – The Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a Sikh American civil rights advocacy group, alongside leaders from the Arab American Institute and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), met with attorneys from the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the Department of Justice Community Relations Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Ralph Boyd, Assistant Attorney General for Civil rights Tuesday, September 18, 2001. Attorney Amardeep Singh Bhalla, from SMART’s Legal Department, presented the current vulnerable status of Sikh Americans through a discussion about the Sikh identity and its resemblance to the prime suspect, Osama Bin Laden, in September 11 attacks. Bhalla brought to their attention the hate crimes that had taken place since Tuesday’s terrorist attacks including the murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi in Arizona, attack against Attar Singh in New York City, and the firebomb attempt on the Cleveland Gurdwara.At the meeting Bhalla conveyed SMART’s efforts, alongside local Sikh organizations across the nation, in documenting and alerting the public to these hate crimes. He stressed the importance of classifying the Sodhi case as a hate crime, the relevance and importance of the ‘kirpan’, and issues surrounding racial profiling. “I told them that Sikh Americans are concerned that there is not enough information out there about who we are,” Bhalla commented this morning. “ I referenced Sher Singh’s arrest as a direct result of this lack of knowledge.” As a result of this meeting the civil rights division will begin investigating and prosecuting these crimes. The community relations service, through SMART, will be sending out information to Sikh Americans about what the federal government is doing about attacks or violence against Sikh Americans and information about identifying and classifying hate crimes. The FBI will be providing information to its 56 field offices to educate their agents about Sikhism and Sikh Americans. SMART also requested some immediate response. Bhalla asked that President Bush, Attorney General Ashcroft or Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Ralph Boyd, with some Sikh Americans along side, make a public statement that the government is aware of this problem and will prosecute such hate crimes to the full extent of the law. Sumeet Kaur, SMART’s Associate Director said, “This meeting shows that Sikh Americans are prepared to work directly with U.S. government agencies at a very high level. With continued support from the Sikh community, our efforts to reach out to the government, the media, and our allies, will put a damper on the scourge of violence against Sikhs.”