Our Work

South Asian Amer­i­cans Lead­ing Togeth­er (SAALT) is a nation­al, non­par­ti­san, non-prof­it orga­ni­za­tion that fights for racial jus­tice and advo­cates for the civ­il rights of all South Asians in the Unit­ed States. Our ulti­mate vision is dig­ni­ty and full inclu­sion for all.

SAALT’s strate­gies include advo­cat­ing for just and equi­table pub­lic poli­cies at the nation­al and local lev­el; strength­en­ing grass­roots South Asian orga­ni­za­tions as cat­a­lysts for com­mu­ni­ty change; and inform­ing and influ­enc­ing the nation­al dia­logue on trends impact­ing our communities.

SAALT’s work reach­es a range of con­stituen­cies, includ­ing the orga­ni­za­tions that are part of the Nation­al Coali­tion of South Asian Orga­ni­za­tions (NCSO); oth­er social jus­tice orga­ni­za­tions; South Asians who are mar­gin­al­ized and dis­em­pow­ered; South Asian activists, stu­dents, and pro­fes­sion­als; and those seek­ing to become more engaged with social change efforts in their communities.

How SAALT Creates Change

  • SAALT is the community’s voice in our nation’s Capi­tol. SAALT con­nects with elect­ed offi­cials, media, and gov­ern­ment agen­cies to high­light issues that affect South Asian Amer­i­cans. Our work includes reg­u­lar brief­in­gs and meet­ings with the White House, Depart­ment of Jus­tice, and Depart­ment of Home­land Secu­ri­ty, as well as our Advo­ca­cy Days that bring advo­cates and com­mu­ni­ty mem­bers clos­er to deci­sion mak­ers in D.C.
  • SAALT brings orga­ni­za­tions togeth­er across pro­gram areas and geo­gra­phies. The NCSO is a net­work of 62 com­mu­ni­ty-based orga­ni­za­tions that have sim­i­lar val­ues and prin­ci­ples, and that pro­vide ser­vices to, works with, con­vene, orga­nize, and advo­cate for South Asians in the Unit­ed States. SAALT coor­di­nates the NCSO’s activ­i­ties, which range from skills-build­ing to a bien­ni­al Sum­mit and col­lec­tive statements.
  • SAALT is a resource for infor­ma­tion on issues affect­ing the South Asian Amer­i­can com­mu­ni­ty: Our reports shine a light on many of the issues affect­ing the South Asian Amer­i­can com­mu­ni­ty. Recent reports include Com­mu­ni­ties on Fire; Pow­er, Pain, Poten­tial; Under Sus­pi­cion, Under Attack; From Maca­cas to Tur­ban Top­pers; and Build­ing Com­mu­ni­ty Strength.
  • SAALT cre­ates oppor­tu­ni­ties and forums for dia­logues and coali­tions with­in and out­side the South Asian Amer­i­can com­mu­ni­ty. SAALT has con­vened events in Wash­ing­ton DC, Atlanta, North Car­oli­na, Detroit, Philadel­phia, Chica­go, Hous­ton, Mia­mi, New York, New Jer­sey, and the San Francisco/Bay Area rang­ing from com­mu­ni­ty dia­logues to town hall discussions.
  • SAALT devel­ops South Asian com­mu­ni­ty lead­er­ship: Through our Young Lead­ers Insti­tute Pro­gram (YLI) SAALT has trained over 70 young South Asian Lead­ers in com­mu­ni­ty-based projects. SAALT’s bien­ni­al Nation­al South Asian Sum­mit, cel­e­brat­ing its 10-year anniver­sary in 2017, brings advo­cates and orga­ni­za­tion­al lead­ers togeth­er in Wash­ing­ton, DC for skills-build­ing work­shops, com­mu­ni­ty-led train­ing and briefings.
  • SAALT main­tains an office in the Wash­ing­ton, DC area and in New York City with com­mit­ted staff, vol­un­teers, and interns: SAALT serves the South Asian Amer­i­can com­mu­ni­ty from our nation’s cap­i­tal, which allows us to engage with pol­i­cy­mak­ers and elect­ed offi­cials on impor­tant issues affect­ing the South Asian community.

Click here to down­load SAALT’s brochure.