As communities of all faiths gather for winter celebrations, we bring you this email in the spirit of langar, the practice of preparing free meals for all who visit a gurdwara, a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs.

Originating in India's Punjab region, Sikhism is the world’s fifth largest religion; an estimated 500,000 practicing Sikhs live in the United States. In the wake of 9/11, American Sikhs, alongside American Muslims, experienced an increase in hate crimes that reverberates 20 years later. In April, the Sikh community in Indianapolis was shaken by a shooting that claimed eight lives, including four Sikhs. As a largely immigrant community, American Sikhs face language barriers and discrimination in the workplace. 

Satjeet Kaur is the executive director of the Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the United States. She specializes in interfaith dialogue and advancing the religious freedom of Sikhs through policy initiatives and education campaigns. 

Kaur has worked with the Sikh Coalition since 2010, responding to crises such as hate crimes, organizing advocacy campaigns for Sikhism to be accurately included in education standards, and mobilizing Sikh civic engagement. The Sikh Coalition also provides informational resources to educators and journalists, and legal services to Sikhs who have experienced discrimination. 

Other sources of interest this week.

The omicron variant has arrived in several states and, with it, fears about vaccine efficacy and how this will impact our ability to gather with our families and extended communities.
 
Dr. Kartik Cherabuddi is a clinical associate professor of infectious diseases at the University of Florida and the director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at UFHealth. He can provide insight into the developing omicron situation.

Sources of the Week on the news

Read:

• Congrats to Cathy Cohen, who just won a $250,000 grant as part of the new cohort of Freedom Scholars. She'll do research in abolitionist, Black, feminist, queer, radical and anti-colonialist studies.
• Dr. Kavita Patel wrote "Omicron variant: The U.S. should learn from South Africa, not punish it" for MSNBC.
• CNBC spoke to William Spriggs about the fall in Black unemployment rates. 
• Jay Shendure’s work on barcoding DNA during embryonic development was featured in The New York Times.

Watch:

• Mary Kathryn Nagle spoke to Marc Lamont Hill on Al Jazeera about the violence that Native women experience.
• Tristan Walker spoke to Washington Post Live about entrepreneurship and diversity.

Listen:

• Enrique Armijo spoke to FAIR about the Alex Jones lawsuit.