IMPORTANT UPDATE:
SAALT is in a period of chrysalis. We are dedicating 2023 and 2024 to building a foundational analysis of our South Asianness on the basis of caste. We have transitioned into a co-stewardship model, to hold us through this transition. We have ceased all external programming to focus on internal political education and the development of decolonized and values-aligned organizational practices, policies and processes.
This period will feed our ultimate purpose: to build South Asian people power that is unapologetically anti-caste and upholding of gender, economic, racial, disability and environmental justice.
During this chrysalis period, SAALT is ceasing all external programming and therefore:
- SAALT will no longer moderate and manage the NCSO listserv (including “approving” posts; which means posting will no longer work on the NCSO listserv),
- SAALT will no longer engage in any NCSO’s organizing, advocacy and policy work including events, campaigns and actions led by the NSCO, and;
- SAALT will be unable to sponsor or participate in NCSO cultural work.
We invite you to read our full chrysalis statement.
In community,
The SAALT Ecosystem
The National Coalition of South Asian Organizations (NCSO) is a thriving ecosystem of South Asian organizations in the U.S., working collaboratively to develop advocacy strategies, policy actions, and community enrichment opportunities. Originally formed in 2007 as a network facilitated by SAALT to foster collaboration across shared South Asian identity, the NCSO has been reorganized since 2020 to work towards abolition of harmful systems impacting our communities through unlearning — of caste supremacy, of carceral complexes, of ongoing colonialism.
Starting in 2022, the NCSO is building towards a federated model that prioritizes decentralized and democratic decision-making and explicitly analyzes power dynamics as they exist and affect South Asian organizers and communities. This shifts SAALT’s role from being a facilitator of the coalition to working horizontally and in equal collaboration with all other NCSO members.
If you belong to a South Asian organization, or would like to join or support a South Asian organization, reach out to us at info@saalt.org so we can connect you with local allies and share more information about what it means to belong to the NCSO.