The story is about how a group of people are working toward a common goal, ‘realization of civil and human rights.’ It is surely a source of inspiration for those who give up on their civil rights.
Name: The Sikh Coalition
Age: 2001 – Till Date
About The Sikh Coalition:
The Sikh Coalition is a non-profit based organization, which works towards Sikh Civil Rights. The community was formed after the violent incident and discrimination between Sikhs took place in the New York City, 2001.
According to the history of the United States, it is the most-staffed organization in the Sikh community. They have many offices in New York and San Francisco Bay Area. The organization assists the people whose civil rights are violated.
Sikh has suffered a lot after the 2001 terrorist attacks in the New York City. At that time, they really had no support and knowledge of civil rights in their favor. Slowly, they have emerged as a strong community to guide all the Sikhs looking for justice.
They are also running Sikh Advocate Academy, where they invite applications for experiential learning course in Washington, DC. The successful applicants get a deeper knowledge by engaging themselves with the Government norms, media, and community. They also take a pledge to become social justice leaders and help the civilians residing there.
A few goals and mission of The Sikh Coalition:
- Provide legal services to people whose civil rights are violated and this is one of their core missions.
- Advocate people on law terms and policies in regard to their fundamental rights.
- Promoting and encouraging more people towards education.
- Help civic engagement to promote local community.
As per the sources, the Sikh Coalition is the largest Sikh American advocacy and community development organization in the United Stated. It is mainly dedicated to promote civil and human rights, where Sikhs can freely and fearlessly practice their religion.
Their goal is to build a friendly nation, which is free of biased culture, rules, and regulations. It makes senses as they have been through a lot of humiliating situations. Sikhism is practiced worldwide, but very few people actually are supporters for them. They have struggled enough to make their existence felt in the society. The community is responsible, committed, dedicated, and loyal each other. One of the reasons of this unity is that they all have been through some sort of humiliation in their society, job location, or social circle. They know the pain of acceptance in the society.
This level of success with no supportive background is truly commendable!
Motivational Facts:
How many of us actually fight for our own rights in the society? We all follow the ‘Chalta Hai’ attitude. We all believe in living and moving the way it is going… No one actually has the time and guts to stand up for their own rights. The Sikh Coalition is standing up for others rights and does things for others selflessly.
It really takes a good amount of efforts to actually do something like this and that too in a foreign land. Sikhs have been neglected for jobs and for other rights. People used to pass humors and rumors about their appearance and looks. They have been through many challenging scenarios during the setup of this constitution. Their motive did not let them get distracted by any of these tough situations.
After a lot of dedication and patience, finally they stand with this confidence to help others learn their civil rights. The team mainly focuses on the Sikh civil rights that are violated. They proactively act and make an environment for those who have fought against the biasness and discrimination.
If you check their brochure, it includes the Gurus, good spiritual words, and the core Sikh beliefs. The vast knowledge in their book will help people to understand their religion in a clear manner rather keeping any misunderstanding about them.
Their application criteria are also simple to follow:
- You need to be over 18 years.
- You need to passionately work for others who seek your guidance and support.
- You need to spend a good amount of time in learning and training civil rights initiatives taken by The Sikh Coalition.
- You need to be responsible and committed.
There are many more that you may find on their website. It gives me great pride to write about their struggle, challenges, and the way they have handled things so patiently. It is easier to read about them, but very painful to experience what they have felt all these years. They have my respect.
