President Obama Creates Task Force On Hate Crimes Against Sikhs

:dateline: Pres. Obama has announced a new anti-bully task force and �hate crime� categories to stem the �rising tide of bigotry and harassment� against Asian Pacific Americans.

In a speech to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) on Wednesday, Obama warned of the �bigotry and hatred� victimizing Asian Pacific Americans � and touted the new task force:

�We just have to�keep speaking out against hatred and bigotry in all of its forms.

�So I’m proud of all of you for rallying around the Muslim and Sikh and Arab and�South Asian communities who face a rising tide of bigotry and harassment.To support your work, we�recently launched the�AAPI Bullying Prevention Task Force�to look at ways that the federal government can help your communities prevent and respond to bullying.�

Obama even blamed discrimination for spreading disease to the Asian Pacific American community:

�It’s easy for people to buy into the myth of �model minority,� and gloss over�the real challenges and discrimination�that still exist.� We know that certain AAPI groups still face�higher dropout rates, obstacles to employment, even higher rates of some diseases.�

Additional measures Obama announced include reviving an initiative and instituting the new FBI �hate crime� categories:

�We reestablished the White House�Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders�to take a closer look at specific issues facing different AAPI communities.�

�The�Justice Department successfully recommended the addition�of �Anti-Sikh,� �Anti-Hindu,� and �Anti-Arab/Anti-Middle Eastern� categories�to the FBI�s hate crime reporting�form.� That’s going to strengthen our efforts to end these despicable crimes.� And we will continue to stand in solidarity with all of our LGBT brothers and sisters against hateful rhetoric and discriminatory state laws targeting them.�

To achieve these goals, the administration will keep closer tabs on Americans� private lives, Obama explained:

�So this is part of the reason why under my administration we’re trying to improve the federal government’s data collection, so we get a better picture of which communities might still need additional resources and attention to overcome some of these barriers.�