How do we balance the urgent need to fight against the hate that plagues our communities and the need to take the time and space to uplift and celebrate our unique stories, identities, and contributions to our country?

This question is at the forefront of my mind as I join the Sikh Coalition, the nation’s largest Sikh civil rights organization, as its new executive director. The Sikh Coalition was founded in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, when Sikhs and other religious minorities found themselves facing unprecedented levels of hate violence in the wake of that national tragedy. Many Sikhs—members of the fifth largest organized faith tradition in the world—keep visible articles of faith, including turbans and unshorn beards, which some Americans began conflating with images of the Taliban. In the days, weeks, and months that followed, the Sikh Coalition emerged as a network of attorneys, advocates, and experts who stepped up to provide free aid to community members who had been subjected to hate crimes or workplace discrimination.

Over the past 20 years, the organization has responded to hundreds of legal intakes and two extraordinarily traumatic mass shootings, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in 2012 and Indianapolis last year. Our expert legal help is often the best first line of defense or a necessary last line of defense for those who routinely experience bias and discrimination, but it’s only part of the path forward. Proactive efforts to share who we are, teach others about our faith, and fight for our right to practice that faith fearlessly in public spaces have been equally critical to pushing back against the tides of fear and bigotry; together, we can accomplish this goal by expanding efforts in policy advocacy, public education, and community empowerment.

Whether we’re engaging at the local, state, or federal level, it is essential to push for laws and policies that protect and respect our community, not only for ensuring accountability for injustice but also for fostering growth in the community. Efforts to better record, track, and respond to hate crimes ensure that police and prosecutors understand when a crime is motivated by bias; treating those investigations as such can also affect an entire community’s willingness to speak up in the face of hate incidents. Workplace discrimination can be prevented through precedents set by landmark court cases, as well as forward-looking policies that facilitate religious accommodations for articles of faith, ensure equal access to personal protective equipment, and prohibit harmful policies like workplace segregation. And concerted efforts to increase diversity and inclusion among our elected and appointed officials will help us realize a government that actually looks like the population it represents.

Read the full article about pushing back against racism by Anisha Singh at Philanthropy News Digest.