SALDEF in the News
Civil rights groups urge Facebook CEO to help prevent harm
SALDEF has joined a coalition of more than 45 civil rights groups in writing a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to act against discrimination on the social media platform and make prevention of harm its goal. In the letter the coalition added that, “Despite years of advocacy, Facebook has failed to stop white nationalists from using event pages to target, intimidate, or harass people based on their race, religion, or other parts of their identity.” The letter published online on Monday also mentioned that the groups would like to meet the Facebook CEO to discuss the concerns outlined in the letter.
Recent News
An American Muslim Imam’s Letter to the American Sikh Community
Imam Omar Suleiman, an American Muslim scholar, published an opinion letter to thank and recognize Seva done by the Sikh Community in New Orleans. Suleiman added that one of his most enduring and treasured sights in the relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina were members of United Sikhs, bolting this way and that across the floor of the Superdome, which had been turned into a massive shelter. He added that “this despite the fact that the Sikh community in New Orleans is minimal, and I can’t recall seeing a single Sikh Katrina victim in any of the shelters…Instead of protecting themselves, Sikhs have never shied away from their mandate to service and solidarity with others.”
Supervisors Approve Sikh Temple Expansion Plan
The Sikh community, more than 30 years ago, began the journey to build a place to worship in Solano County, California. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday took steps that will now allow the community to more than double the size of the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple. “We need space, even for the classrooms and future projects we may have,” Pahal said. While the old permit allowed for up to 200 people at a Sunday service, the new permit allows for up to 600.
Norwich library removes Sikh display after complaint from Indian government
Swaranjit Singh Khalsa did a lot of work to get a Sikh memorial display, dedicated to what he says was the genocide of Sikh members in 1984, placed in the Otis Library in Norwich. Khalsa added that “I don’t feel anything political or religious in the plaque. It’s the history.” The plaque unveiled at the library in June was taken down after executive director Robert Farwell got a call from the Indian General Consulate in New York. Khalsa added that it is “very disturbing that foreign governments are interfering in our city politics or even in our national politics.”
10 years after its passage, there’s a lot we can do to build on the Hate Crimes Prevention Act
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, passed in 2009, widened the scope of what can be considered a hate crime and expanded their definition to include motivations based on the actual or perceived gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim. The article adds that as strong as the Hate Crimes Prevention Act was, there is still much work to be done. According to the FBI, hate crimes have been on the rise in the United States for the last three years, yet even these alarming numbers are tempered by a chronic, well-documented underreporting problem. The article also focuses on the Sikh American community knows how hard it is to achieve positive and proactive change in this space, as three years of advocacy went into pushing the federal government to begin tracking hate crimes against more communities, including Sikhs.
Houston Police adopt religious apparel policy in wake of Indian-American officer’s killing
Three weeks after the shooting death of Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, the Houston Police Department announced it had made a major policy change allowing law enforcement officers to wear their articles of faith while in uniform. The announcement was made by Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo to honor Dhaliwal. The Houston Police Department has become the latest major law enforcement agency to improve their religious accommodation policies and joins other large law enforcement agencies like the NYPD, Chicago Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to make similar changes in recent years.
Jagmeet Singh is dancing like he won the election. There’s a reason for that.
Even though Singh lost seats, there was a feeling the NDP had gained power. In his election night speech, Singh promised to exert as much pressure as he could to achieve a national pharmacare program, affordable housing, student loan interest forgiveness and meaningful reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations. Whether Singh will have as much influence as he would like in the next government is far from certain. Still, Singh’s supporters were hopeful and there wasn’t a person at his celebration at the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown who seemed to feel the campaign had failed.
Upcoming Events
Sikh Americans’ Quest for Religious Freedom and Racial Justice, with Kiran Kaur Gill
This lecture will provide a historical perspective of the Sikh American journey over the last century highlighting the contributions and struggles faced by Sikh Americans as they pursue the American dream. It will cover early immigration of Sikhs to California in the late 1800’s to the Sikh American experience post 9/11.
Tickets: https://bit.ly/343n8mM
Watch this lecture live-streaming on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu-LuC_vF-c
Date And Time: Mon, October 28, 2019 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
Location: Rutgers Law School Center for Law and Justice, Baker Courtroom, 123 Washington Street, Baker Courtroom Room 125, Newark, NJ 07102