South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to fostering an environment in which all South Asians in America can participate fully in civic and political life, and have influence over policies that affect them. Approximately 2.7 million South Asians live in the United States, tracing their backgrounds to Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and the diaspora, including Trinidad/Tobago, Guyana, and Africa. SAALT works to achieve our mission through a social justice framework that incorporates the strategies of policy analysis and advocacy, community education, local capacity-building, and leadership development. Each of these strategies are linked to specific programs which you will find more information about on this website.
News Releases
- Release Date:September 15, 2011
(Washington, DC)- South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national, non-profit, non-partisan organization, released a new report today, entitled, Community Resilience. The report, released on the ten year anniversary of the hate crime that killed Balbir Singh Sodhi, looks back at the past decade and suggests recommendations on moving forward.
- Release Date:September 8, 2011
(Bloomington, IN) - With the upcoming ten-year anniversary of the September 11 tragedy, the journal Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts will feature a special issue examining how the events of that historic day have framed the way in which Americans address race, religion and national origin in policy and public realms. Entitled Field Notes from the September 11 Moment: Transformations in Community and Country, the issue is a collaboration between the editorial staff and Deepa Iyer, Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), who served as guest editor. It includes academic thought pieces, as well as a collection of first-person narratives from individuals representing the Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South Asian communities.
- Release Date:August 24, 2011
(Artesia, California): Nearly 150 of Southern California's South Asian American community members and supporters gathered at the Artesia Community Center to reflect on the passing of a decade since the tragedy on September 11, 2001. While the nation mourns the upcoming anniversary, community members, and organization, South Asian Network (SAN), organized a community hearing to mourn the local loss within the South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh communities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. The hearing held on August 20, 2011, was co-sponsored by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and State of California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CSCAPIAA).
- Release Date:August 1, 2011
(Jersey City, New Jersey): Over 70 community members gathered for a hearing called "South Asians in New Jersey: Ten Years After 9/11" to reflect on the decade since the 9/11 tragedy, and to provide recommendations for moving forward. The hearing, held on Saturday, July 30, 2011 in Jersey City, New Jersey, was organized by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national nonprofit organization, as part of its campaign - An America for All of Us- to mark the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.
- Release Date:July 13, 2011(New Jersey): Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin, the Muslim American mayor of Teaneck, New Jersey, and the Teaneck Township Council unanimously passed an anti-bias resolution presented by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, on July 12, 2011. The resolution reaffirms the township's commitment to state bias intimidation laws and requires the municipality to: train law enforcement agencies in identifying and investigating bias crimes; gather and make accessible data on bias crimes; inform residents about their rights around bias incidents; and, improve engagement with communities impacted by such crimes. See the resolution here.
- Release Date:April 27, 2011
(Washington, DC) - South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), along with the Arab American Institute (AAI), the National Immigration Forum (NIF) and the Rights Working Group (RWG), welcome the decision by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to modify the National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS). According to DHS through a notice published in the Federal Register, effective tomorrow, nationals and citizens of countries currently subject to NSEERS are no longer required to register. Read the notice here.
- Release Date:10.27.2010image:
(Washington): Racist and xenophobic comments made by elected officials and political candidates have contributed to negative public opinions and policies, according to a report released by DC area-based, non-profit organization, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), on October 27, 2010.
- Release Date:10.21.2010
SAALT invites you to join us for the launch of our report:
From Macacas to Turban Toppers: The Rise in Xenophobic and Racist Rhetoric in American Political Discourse
As the midterm elections approach, SAALT is releasing a report that presents an inventory and analysis of the rise in xenophobic rhetoric since September 11, 2001, and calls for a return to civility in the political sphere.
- Release Date:08.19.2010
South Asian organizations across the country applauded the recent decision that overturned California’s ban on recognizing marriage between same-sex partners. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the measure in question, Proposition 8 on the 2008 ballot, violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
