The Sikh Project: Photo exhibit launches in New York City Sept. 16

ENTER HERE for a sampling of the The Sikh Project.

THE FIRST-EVER art exhibition exclusively featuring Sikh/Americans will premiere in New York City on Friday, September 16.

The Sikh Project, features the work of acclaimed British photographers, Amit and Naroop, in coordination with the Sikh Coalition, features nearly 40 portraits of Sikh/American men and women that explore the style and significance of the Sikh articles of faith. The exhibition, which will be free to the general public from September 16-25, will also highlight generations of Sikh/American history that embodies perseverance and progress as Americans commemorate the 15-year anniversary of 9/11.

The Sikh Coalition, which was formed immediately after 9/11, will also be celebrating its 15-year anniversary. “As we commemorate this important milestone for our organization, we felt that the moment was right to examine the beauty of the Sikh faith, the strength of our collective spirit and to do so in a way that further educates Americans,” said Executive Director Sapreet Kaur.

In addition to the thousands who will visit the exhibition in person, media coverage of the Sikh Project is expected to reach millions more as the Sikh Coalition launches a communications plan to publicize the exhibition.

“We are really proud to be working with the Sikh Coalition to bring this project to the United States this September,” said Amit and Naroop. The photographers, who are generously volunteering their time to this project, launched the original British version of the photography exhibition titled The Singh Project in 2014.

The photographers with one of their subjects in The Sikh Project.

In the aftermath of 9/11, Sikhs experienced a spike in persecution and hate crimes because they were often mistaken for Muslims. Sikh-owned businesses were vandalized, Sikhs were beaten or verbally abused, Sikh temples were targets for vandals, some were burned. Sikhs were detained at airports or kicked off of flights. Both male and female adherents of Sikhism often refrain from cutting their hair and wear turbans to demonstrate devotion to their faith.

"The consequences of 9/11 were disastrous," Amit and Naroop wrote. "One subject we photographed for the exhibition told [us] before 9/11 people would look at him and say, 'Hey, there is a genie.' After 9/11 they would say, 'Hey, there is a terrorist.' "

Many of the series' subjects have experienced discrimination, but all have stayed true to their beliefs in the face of bigotry—a commitment the photographers hope will inspire gallerygoers.

"People viewing the images or attending the exhibition should feel like they have gained some knowledge about Sikhs, but also some more knowledge about themselves," the pair wrote. "They have just seen a bunch of people who will stay true to their beliefs regardless of persecution and prejudice. The question is, would you be willing to do the same? Would you stand up for what you believe in?"

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Asian/Pacific American group plans 'checkpoints' in Washington, D.C.

A passenger is checked at the airport.

FIFTEEN YEARS ago, the United States changed when terrorists attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

President Bush warned us that the war against terrorism would be unlike any war we have ever experienced. At the time, most Americans had no idea how different the tactics would be and how our country would react.

I'm reminded of this every time I go through airport security, because of my dark complexion, goatee and shaved head, I draw the special attention of the guards. They tell me I'm picked at random as they pat me down, but I know better. It has happened too often to be random.

What I go through, though, is nothing compared to what thousands of our fellow citizens must undergo.

On the 15th anniversary of September 11th, organizers with the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) and KhushDC will take part in a performative action so other people will be able to experience the impact of Islamophobia and the legalized profiling of LGBTQ South Asian, Muslim and Black communities.

"We are creating 'checkpoints' in high-traffic areas of Washington D.C. that replicate the various 'checkpoints' experience every day by South Asian, Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, and Black people experience every day – being stopped when passing through TSA, being denied service because of religious markers, being called terrorists, being kicked off of flights, etc. Black Muslims experience this profiling at an even higher frequency, leading to brutality or death at the hands of law enforcement," stated a press release from NQAPIA,
Numerous studies have documented the impact of Islamophobia. 

• A Gallup poll found that nearly half of all Muslims - 48 percent - reported that they, personally, had experienced racial or religious discrimination in the past year. 
• In a Columbia University survey, 28 percent of Muslim high school students in New York reported being stopped by police as a result of racial profiling. 
• A labor market study found a 10 percent decrease in earnings for Muslim and Arab men immediately after 9/11, with the effects greater in areas with a higher incidence of hate crimes. 

The "checkpoints" will be set up this Sunday, Sept. 11 between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. across D.C. in Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Verizon Center (Chinatown), and other locations.

 

“I feel the aftershocks of 9/11 every day," said NQAPIA’s Organizing Director Sasha  W. "From profiling at the airport, to verbal harassment on the street, to surveillance outside my apartment, the policies enacted in the wake of 9/11 have legalized the profiling and surveillance of my people. I cannot feel ‘safe’ until the legalized profiling, surveillance, and harassment end.”  

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