:dateline:White House staff, Sikh Americans, and other attendees celebrated Guru Nanak Dev Ji�s Gurpurab in Washington, DC. SALDEF worked with the Obama Administration to host the commemoration to both celebrate the birth anniversary of Sikhi�s founder and the many achievements of Sikh Americans as we reflect on our common values of equality, freedom, and justice.
�This was an important event because it allowed us to interact with policy-makers and non-Sikhs about our shared values as Americans,� said SALDEF Executive Director Deepinder Singh. �Our volunteers and staff–especially our new Policy Associate and SikhLEAD Coordinator Amrita Kaur Bamrah–demonstrated the strength in collaboration to organize an event befitting such a commemoration.�
The celebration included remarks from Vanita Gupta, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The event also featured actor/designer Waris Ahluwalia and music from Raginder Singh Momi, a renowned violin player. It took place on White House grounds at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, South Court Auditorium.
�Guru Nanak Dev Ji�s life exemplified his values of the innate equality of all human beings, to fight against injustice and oppression in all forms, to celebrate both the inner-connectedness and the diversity we have in society,� said SALDEF Board member Kavneet Singh. �These values seem particularly poignant today with the many struggles and challenges we see across the county, and across the world, related to religious and social intolerance, inequality, injustice.�
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