Organizational Public Service Achievement Award Presented By Sa’adiyah Masoud

organizational public service achievement award, presented by sa’adiyah masoud the nasaba organizational public service achievement award ho

Organizational Public Service Achievement Award, Presented by
Sa’adiyah Masoud
The NASABA Organizational Public Service Achievement Award honors that
organization which has made an impact on the community through its
public service efforts. The award goes to that organization which
through its outstanding efforts has greatly benefited the legal field
by: promoting awareness of contemporary legal issues and current laws;
advocating changes in the law or public policy, i.e., writing amicus
curiae briefs; lobbying politically and/or socially for the benefit of
the legal profession or the legal community; encouraging attorneys to
engage in pro bono programs by recruiting attorneys, providing
training, matching attorneys with pro bono opportunities and/or
organizing legal assistance clinics; providing seminars and/or
lectures to educate the general public as to their legal rights;
funding scholarships and or other financial assistance programs to
increase diversity in the legal profession; raising funds to provide
quality legal representation to underprivileged people; and
campaigning for greater representation of all groups in the Judiciary
or other elected or appointed legal positions. This year’s NASABA
Organizational Public Service Achievement Award goes to the Sikh
Coalition.
The Sikh Coalition is a community-based organization that works
towards the realization of civil and human rights for all people. In
particular, the Sikh Coalition works to promote an environment where
individuals may freely practice and enjoy their faith while fostering
strong relations with their local community wherever they may be. With
a full-time staff of 12 and offices in New York City, Fremont, CA and
Washington D.C., it is the most-staffed Sikh organization in the
history of the United States. The Coalition provides legal services to
many individuals facing civil rights issues who otherwise would be
without representation. Some of the Coalition’s 2010 accomplishments
include:
 Litigating and ultimately persuading the United States Army to
accommodate 2 Sikhs who wanted to serve in the Army without abandoning
their turbans and beards. The accommodation led to the accommodation
of a Muslim Army doctor who wanted to maintain a beard for religious
purposes.
 Successfully lobbying the Oregon State Legislature to repeal a state
law that barred public school teachers from wearing their religious
articles of faith in the classroom.
 Obtaining a ruling from the EEOC finding that a car dealership’s
refusal to hire an otherwise well qualified Sikh, because of his
facial hair, was discriminatory.
Congratulations to the Sikh Coalition.