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Scene from "Neel" by David Woo (source: YouTube)

US DoJ settles with Georgia school district in case of bullied Sikh student

May 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In Georgia, the DeKalb County School District in Stone Mountain recently reached a settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice in the case of a Sikh student who was harassed and bullied in a middle school in their district: The complaint said school officials did nothing to help the boy, who had allegedly been subjected to verbal and physical harassment because of his Sikh faith. According to the complaint, a student had tried to cut the boy’s hair, he […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: bullying, Civil Rights Act of 1964, David Woo, DeKalb County School District, Georgia, Neel, Sikh Coalition, Stone Mountain, Title IV, United States Department of Justice

Police action during the shooting attack on the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in August 2012. (source: Daily Record and Sunday Mail)

White Supremacy: The Unspoken Truth

December 27, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Co-blogged with Nina Chanpreet Kaur “All the talking is done and now it’s time to walk the walk / Revolution’s in the air 9mm in my hand / You can run but you can’t hide from this master plan.” (Song lyrics by Wade Michael Page’s band End Apathy) A few weeks ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) closed its investigation into the mass shooting that occurred at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in August, in which six Sikhs were […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: FBI, FBI Hate Crime Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, hate crimes, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, United States Department of Justice, Wade Michael Page, White supremacy, Wisconsin

Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

US Assistant Attorney General visits Oak Creek, WI

December 13, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Visiting the gurdwara, the overwhelming message I took back from the congregation is one of unity – a resolve to work together, with members of every faith to foster understanding, and to ensure that such tragic acts of violence are never repeated. — Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez of the Civil Rights Division of US Department of Justice, after his visit to the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin last week. The Department of Justice has joined calls to have the FBI […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: FBI, FBI Hate Crime Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, hate crimes, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Thomas Perez, United States Assistant Attorney General, United States Department of Justice, United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Wisconsin

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MTA officially settles with Sikhs and Muslims on ‘brand or segregate’ policy

May 30, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Earlier this month and as a result of a seven-year long legal challenge, New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which oversees public transit in the city, agreed in principle to eliminate the requirement that Sikhs or Muslims who wear religious head-coverings to affix a corporate logo on the head-covering, or be segregated out of public view. This policy was coined as “brand or segregate”. The settlement was officially filed in federal court today, and includes: Transit Authority employees will no […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: brand or segregate, Metropolitan Transit Authority, MTA, Muslim, New York, Sikh, Turban, United States Department of Justice

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MTA agrees to unbrand Sikh turbans

May 2, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

For the better part of the last decade, Sikhs and Muslims have been campaigning against a discriminatory policy by New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) that required followers of these religions to affix the MTA logo on religious articles of faith that were worn on the head, even though the MTA distributed headwear that did not carry the logo to other employees . For Sikhs, this meant that for the purposes of employment, they were required to attach an “MTA” […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Metropolitan Transit Authority, MTA, Muslim, New York, Sikh, Turban, United States Department of Justice

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Sikh’s rights protected in California prisons

June 10, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

As I wrote about three months ago, the United States Department of Justice filed a legal suit against the State of California for violating the civil rights of Sikh inmate Sukhjinder Singh Basra – a Canadian citizen serving time for a drug-related offense – at a state prison in San Luis Obispo. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was enforcing a policy that required inmates to shave their facial hair. As uncut hair is a religious article of faith for […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, California, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, prison, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, San Luis Obispo, Sikh Coalition, Sukhjinder Singh Basra, United States Department of Justice

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The American “Muslim” hearings: radicalization takes different forms

March 30, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“Regrettably, while nearly a decade has passed since 9/11, we continue to see a steady stream of violence and discrimination targeting Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South-Asian communities. In each city and town where I have met with leaders of these communities, I have been struck by the sense of fear that pervades their lives – fear of violence, of bigotry and hate. The headwind of intolerance manifests itself in many different ways.” — an excerpt of Assistant Attorney General Thomas […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, News Bits, Politics • Tags: civil rights, Dick Durbin, hate crime, Islam, Islamophobia, Muslim, Peter King, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense Fund, Thomas Perez, United States Department of Justice, US Attorney General

US Dept. of Justice vs. California – protecting a Sikh’s rights in prison

March 17, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Should practicing Sikhs be allowed to pursue their faith while in prison? This debate is occuring not only among Sikhs and non-Sikhs, but also between the federal and state governments. The United States Department of Justice has filed a legal suit against the State of California for violating the civil rights of Sikh inmate Sukhjinder Singh Basra: The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the state of California, Governor Jerry Brown and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: California, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Jagmohan Singh Ahuja, Jerry Brown, Kamala Harris, prison, Rastafarian, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, Sukhjinder Singh Basra, Trilochan Singh Oberoi, United States Department of Justice

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: United States Department of Justice

US DoJ settles with Georgia school district in case of bullied Sikh student

White Supremacy: The Unspoken Truth

US Assistant Attorney General visits Oak Creek, WI

MTA officially settles with Sikhs and Muslims on ‘brand or segregate’ policy

MTA agrees to unbrand Sikh turbans

Sikh’s rights protected in California prisons

The American “Muslim” hearings: radicalization takes different forms

US Dept. of Justice vs. California – protecting a Sikh’s rights in prison