- Sacramento Hate Crime Update
- Order Your 2011 Pocket Calendars Today!
- Racial Profiling Presentation to LCCR
- FBI Hate Crime Statistics Presentation
- Know Your Rights Forum in LA
- Gurpurab Celebration at White House
- High School Scholarship Opportunity
Sacramento Hate Crime Update 
Last week, West Sacramento police arrested the two assailants responsible for attacking Harbhajan Singh, a 56-year old cab driver in Sacramento, CA. On November 28th, Mr. Singh was severely beaten by two passengers in his cab as they yelled racial slurs. He managed to escape, but sustained serious injuries. SALDEF immediately issued a letter to local authorities and the FBI requesting that they initiate a hate crimes investigation into the attack. Order Your 2011 Sikh American Pocket Calendars Today! As the new year approaches, it’s time to place your order for SALDEF’s Sikh Awareness
Pocket Calendars. This handy resource can be used in your local community to educate and increase awareness of Sikhs and Sikhi. The calendars feature full-color images of Sikh Americans, along with examples of core Sikh values and facts about Sikhs in the United States. On the back, the cards have a 2011 calendar in an easy-to-use design. Sikhs across the nation have distributed them at their workplace, schools, convenience stores, gas stations, taxi cabs, senior citizens centers, and public libraries. The calendars are available in bundles of 100 for $10 plus shipping and handling fees. Racial Profiling Presentation to Leadership Conference on Civil Rights On November 16th, SALDEF presented in a program called “I Am More Than A Profile,” to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR). The program highlighted challenges facing minority communities who are often targets of racial profiling. SALDEF provided a background on the Sikh faith and then explained some the issues regarding racial profiling affecting the community, such as the latest TSA policies. SALDEF was joined in the presentation by partner organization, the Rights Working Group. FBI Hate Crime Statistics Presentation On November 8th and 9th, SALDEF presented to a subcommittee of the FBI’s Hate Crime St
atistics Unit to advocate for an “Anti-Sikh” category to be added to the Crime Reporting Form. Currently, there is no category, and anti-Sikh hate crimes are most often times categorized as anti-Muslim/anti-Arab or simply “Other.” The addition of the anti-Sikh category would greatly benefit the community in accurately documenting the number of hate crimes committed against Sikh Americans. If you feel you have been the victim of a hate crime, please promptly contact SALDEF. Know Your Rights Forum in Los Angeles On November 14th, SALDEF conducted a Know Your Rights Forum for the Los Angeles
Sikh American community at the Khalsa Care Foundation. Representatives from the FBI, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Department of Justice participated in a presentation and discussion, covering issues such as cyber fraud, hate crimes, and employment discrimination. Each agency also presented career opportunities in their respective agencies. To conduct a forum in your community, please contact us. Sikh Americans Celebrate Guru Nanak’s Gurpurab at White House On November 19th, SALDEF, along with other organizations and community members from 
across the nation, joined representatives from the White House and other federal agencies in celebrating the 541st birthday of Guru Nanak. Through kirtan, speeches, and ardas, the audience reflected upon the life and teachings of the first Sikh Guru. SALDEF commends President Obama’s administration in engaging with the Sikh American community but encourages it to increase its level of commitment to the important issues facing our community. High School Scholarship Opportunity The Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF), an organization w
orking towards ensuring that all Asian American students have opportunities to pursue a college career, is now accepting scholarship applications. SALDEF encourages all eligible Sikh American students to apply to this opportunity. Eligibility requirements include, enrolling in an accredited university, a letter of recommendation, and a minimum GPA of 2.7. For more details and the online application, please click here.