The Sikh Coalition is a left-of-center advocacy group that lobbies for increased visibility and representation of the American Sikh community, with a focus on including Sikh studies in K-12 public school curricula. the group’s activities also include legal advocacy representing Sikhs facing employment discrimination, campaigns to allow for the open practice of religion at work, and efforts to secure religious exemptions to law enforcement and military uniform and grooming standards. Funders of the coalition include the Five Rivers Foundation, the Gurmehar Foundation, and the Beyond Borders Foundation. ^{1 2 3}

Background and History

The Sikh Coalition was founded in 2001. According to the group’s website, the organization was founded “on the night of September 11, 2001 in response to a torrent of violent attacks against Sikh Americans throughout the United States.” In 2003 the group hired a legal director and has grown to include a staff of 20 employees. The group’s legal team has led many workforce discrimination cases against businesses and government agencies and has taken cases concerning school bullying, racial profiling, discrimination, and hate crimes. ^{3 4}

The Sikh Coalition is headquartered in New York with additional offices and staff in New York City, California (Bay Area and Los Angeles), Washington D.C., and Chicago. The group states that it does not receive funding from government agencies with its funding coming from individual donors and private foundations. ⁵

Activity

The activities of the Sikh Coalition include conducting advocacy campaigns and taking legal action in the areas of school bullying, racial profiling, discrimination, and hate crimes. The group’s policy work centers on promoting “religious rights laws and dramatic policy improvements for how anti-Sikh hate crimes are tracked by the FBI and how the TSA screens Sikh passengers at airports.” ³

The group also opposes Department of Defense policies that require servicemembers to maintain grooming and uniform standards that prohibit serving with turbans, unshorn hair, and unshorn beards, all of which are religious obligations of Sikh men. In 2016, the group filed suit against the Army in partnership with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty over its uniform and grooming standards, contributing to the Army amending its religious accommodation policies in 2017. ⁶

The coalition heavily focuses on school curricula and bullying. The group has included Sikh history standards in state social studies curricula standards in California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, Oklahoma, Michigan, North Dakota, Nebraska, Indiana, and Kansas. ³

The coalition has also supported left-of-center critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion ideologies in schools. A white paper created by the group stated that “Many of the topics that opponents of CRT (see below), DEI, and inclusive education in general describe as ‘divisive’ are extremely relevant to our students” further stating that “it is a fact that white supremacy is a threat to the Sikh community,” “Sikhs have experienced systemic racism, or racism perpetuated by individuals rather than institutions, just like other marginalized communities in the United States,” and that “Honest education about both colonialism and imperialism are integral to understanding Sikh history.” ⁷

Funding

Funders of the Sikh Coalition include the Five Rivers Foundation, Lakan Incorporation, S Kirpal Singh Family Foundation, the Gurmehar Foundation, the Dr. Kharag Singh and Bhupinder Sachdeva Charitable Foundation, the Beyond Borders Foundation, the Jolly Family Foundation, the Community Care Foundation, and the Munshi Bishan Singh Kochhar Foundation. ¹

1. “Full Text Search: Sikh Coalition.” Nonprofit Explorer. Query Conducted May 12, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?sort=best&form%5B%5D=IRS990PF&q=sikh+coalition&submit=Apply
2. “Preventing Hate and Discrimination.” Sikh Coalition. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://www.sikhcoalition.org/our-work/preventing-hate-and-discrimination/
3. “History.” Sikh Coalition. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://www.sikhcoalition.org/about-us/history/
4. “About Us.” Sikh Coalition. Accessed May 12, 2024.  https://www.sikhcoalition.org/about-us/
5. “Mission and Values.” Sikh Coalition. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://www.sikhcoalition.org/about-us/mission-values/
6. “Sikhs in the US Armed Forces.” Sikh Coalition. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://www.sikhcoalition.org/our-work/ending-employment-discrimination/sikhs-in-the-u-s-armed-forces/
7. “Sikh Coalition’s Policy Principles for Creating Safer and More Inclusive Schools. Sikh Coalition. Maty 2024. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://www.sikhcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Inclusive-Education-Policy-Principles-May-2024-update.pdf