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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

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California Governor Jerry Brown (seated) signs AB1964 and SB1540 into law at a rally at the California State Capitol last Saturday. Assembly Member Mariko Yamada (standing left of the Governor), Dr. Onkar Bindra (standing right of the Governor) and Sikh Coalition Advocacy Manager Simran Kaur (far right) joined the Governor. (source: Instagram user i2theb)

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Victories in employment equality

January 9, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In 2012, there were two significant achievements for Sikh Americans in the realm of employment discrimination on each side of the country: the decision by Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department to accept observant Sikhs as full police officers, and the signing of a workplace religious freedom act in California. Both achievements have the potential to act as precedents for further success in dealing with employment discrimination that Sikhs have faced in the United States due to lack of accommodation of […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reflections • Tags: AB1964, California, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Employment Discrimination, Jerry Brown, Mariko Yamada, Metropolitan Police Department, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sikh Coalition, Top 5 Sikh American Stories, Washington DC, Workplace Religious Freedom Act

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Blurred image of a nihang Sikh (source: mrsikhnet.com)

The ironic invisibility of Sikhs

December 19, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In a recent CBS News documentary entitled “Working for Religious Freedom“, Rajdeep Singh, the Director of Law and Policy at the Sikh Coalition, commented on how little Sikhs are known in the United States (at 19:45 in the video): Sikhs have been in the United States for more than 100 years, and ironically, despite being one of the most visible people in this country, in some respects, we’re invisible. I was reminded of this quote — and of our ironic […]

Categories: Reports/Studies • Tags: CBS News, Global Religious Landscape, Pew Forum, Pew Forum of Religion and Public Life, Pew Research Center, Rajdeep Singh, Sikh Coalition

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Jasjit Singh Jaggi serves as a member of the NYPD with his articles of faith intact, but only as a traffic officer, after winning his religious accommodation case in 2004. (source: New York City Commission on Human Rights)

It may take a lawsuit for the NYPD to allow Sikhs to serve freely

December 19, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“There is no reason why the NYPD police officers can’t wear a turban and beard and do their job,”  said [New York Assemblyman Dave Weprin] mentioning in particular that Sikhs’ beards [prevent] the use of gas masks is not true. “Sikhs can tie up their beards in a crop cut,” he said. …“They are not being as receptive to people that don’t look like them,” he said. — In the Gotham Gazette, New York Assemblyman Dave Weprin discusses the campaign […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Employment Discrimination, Gotham Gazette, Jasjit Singh Jaggi, Metropolitan Police Department, Metropolitan Transit Authority, MTA, New York Police Department, NYPD, religious accommodation, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sikh Coalition, Workplace Discrimination

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Woven bracelet that the Oak Creek Police Department had specially made for their officers to remember the shooting at the Oak Creek Gurdwara, including orange for the Sikh community, blue for the police officers, and black for those that were lost that day. (source: Sikh Coalition)

Quote of the Day: “strangers no longer”

December 11, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Things have changed in Oak Creek, of course, in the months since a gunman with white supremacist ties took the lives of six temple members and wounded four others. Oak Creek and the Sikh community are strangers no longer; they will forever be linked with each other. — An article in the Oak Creek Patch describes Sikh awareness presentations being provided to Oak Creek, Wisconsin city staff, police department and schools by the Sikh Coalition. The article also includes an […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Gurdwara, hate crimes, Oak Creek, Sikh Awareness Seminar, Sikh Coalition, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

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Sikh Coalition announces winners of Diversity Video Competition

November 16, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

This weekend, I will be attending the SikhLens Sikh Arts and Film Festival in southern California. I’m looking forward to enjoying to the showcase of Sikh artists over the next two days, re-connecting with friends, and making new connections as well. If you aren’t attending the film festival, you can still enjoy some short films made by Sikhs. The Sikh Coalition recently announced the winners of this year’s Diversity Video Competition entitled “My Crown, My Faith”. Satdeep Singh’s film Taaj […]

Categories: TV/Movies • Tags: A Day with a Crown, Abril Murillo, Coexist, Diversity Video Competition, James Magazzino, Satdeep Singh, Sikh Arts and Film Festival, Sikh Coalition, SikhLens Sikh Arts and Film Festival, Taaj

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Sikh Awareness Month being celebrated across California

November 8, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

With the California state legislature designating November as Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month in California, there has been significant activity across the state to commemorate the month and increase awareness of the Sikh American community. The declaration by the State of California has provided a unique opportunity for the public to learn more about the Sikh American community in the state and beyond. To that end, the Sikh Coalition has provided a wealth of resources and support to facilitate […]

Categories: Events, Resources • Tags: California, Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month, Sikh Awareness Month, Sikh Coalition

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NBC Bay Area news footage of the Sikh Coalition's 5K for the 5Ks fundraising event on Saturday, September 22, 2012 (source: NBC Bay Area)

Thoughts on attending the Sikh Coalition’s “5K for the 5Ks” event

September 25, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Last Saturday, I was in the Bay Area to attend the Sikh Coalition’s “5K for the 5Ks” fundraising event in Sunnyvale, California. It was a very enjoyable event, and I was happy to meet in person many people I’ve seen online or in other forums. It was friendly atmosphere among the participants and organizers. I was particularly taken by the display of the variety of talent in our community during the event. Many thanks to the Sikh Coalition, their staff, […]

Categories: Art, Events, Reflections • Tags: 5K for the 5Ks, California, Chardi Kalakari, Kalakari Collective, Sikh Coalition, Sunnyvale

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Busy upcoming weekend for California’s Sikhs

September 20, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

This weekend will be a busy one for California’s Sikhs, with a variety of events from Saturday through Sunday. Sikhs celebrate a century in the United States Stockton, California, September 22-23 As previously mentioned, the Stockton Gurdwara in Stockton, California will celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the establishment of the Gurdwara — considered the oldest in America — with a conference on Saturday, September 22, entitled “The Sikh Journey to America“, at the Spanos Concert Hall at the University of […]

Categories: Events, TV/Movies • Tags: 3rd i, 5K for the 5Ks, Article of Faith, California, Roots of Love, San Francisco, San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival, Sikh Centennial, Sikh Coalition, Sikh I Am, Sikh Voices, Siklidar, Stockton, Sunnyvale

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California’s Workplace Religion Freedom Act rights the wrongs faced by our parents

September 19, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

When my Sikh father immigrated to America in 1970 to practice architecture, employers told him that he could have a job only if he removed his turban and shaved his beard. He refused to abandon his faith and took his first job as an office boy, sharpening pencils and making coffee for his fellow architects. For decades, Sikh fathers like mine and countless religious minorities around the nation have been offered a similarly false choice between religious freedom and self-fulfillment […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reflections • Tags: AB1964, California, National Public Radio, NPR, Rajdeep Singh, Sikh Coalition, StoryCorps, Workplace Religious Freedom Act

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