SALDEF Hosts 19th Know Your Rights Forum in Lawrenceville, NJ
SALDEF Hosts 19th Know Your Rights Forum in Lawrenceville, NJ
March 6, 2018
For more information contact: Gujari Singh (631) 404-9977
Lawrenceville NJ – On Sunday, March 4th, 2018, SALDEF organized the 19th Know Your Rights Forum in Lawrenceville, NJ at the Sikh Sabha Gurdwara. The forum was attended by approximately 300 members of the Sangat. The speakers included, Mr. Harpreet Singh Mokha of the Department of Justice Community Relations Service, Mr. John Paige from the NJ-Department of Homeland Security, Mr. Anthony Zampogna and Mr. Arnold B. Adams from the FBI and Mr. David Leonardis from the New Jersey Attorney General Office.
The speakers at the19th Know Your Rights talked about many topics affecting the Sikh community including, workplace discrimination, school bullying, reporting and acting on hate crimes and airport security procedures.
There was a strong emphasis on interpreting and dealing with bias. Bias incidents are an offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by the offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or gender identity BUT may not rise to the level of a crime. According to Mr. Leonardis of the NJ Attorney General office, “every local police department has a bias crime officer,” who will assist in evaluating and reporting the crime. According to Anthony Zampogna of the FBI, “It is not easy to evaluate whether you are dealing with a matter of just hateful language to you or whether it is a crime – and you are not alone in figuring that out.”
The purpose of the Know Your Rights Forum is to: (1) introduce Sikh American community members to agencies and groups that can address complaints, incidents, or issues they may have and (2) provide local, state, and federal government agencies the opportunity to build relationships with and address the specific needs of their local Sikh American community (3) provide local, state, and federal government agencies the opportunity to build relationships with and address the specific needs of their local Sikh American community.
Watch Videos from the event on our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/
SALDEF is committed to empowering the Sikh American community nationwide about their rights and how to exercise them without fear or hesitation.
READ MORE: Who are Sikh Americans (informational) www.saldef.org/who-are-sikh-
READ MORE: Sikh Media Style Guide — http://saldef.org/wp-content/
Please direct any inquiries and RSVP to:
Gujari Singh
For pictures of the event please email Gujari@Saldef.org
About SALDEF: SALDEF is a 20-year-old national Sikh American policy, media, and educational organization. Our mission is to empower Sikh Americans by building dialogue, deepening understanding, promoting civic and political participation, and upholding social justice and religious freedom for all Americans.
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