The Coalition

The South Asian com­mu­ni­ty in the Unit­ed States has a range of needs and con­cerns. As a com­mu­ni­ty of over 4.3 mil­lion indi­vid­u­als, South Asians come from diverse areas, speak many lan­guages, and affil­i­ate with var­i­ous reli­gions. Many South Asians con­front chal­lenges, bar­ri­ers, and obsta­cles in their dai­ly lives. Around the coun­try, South Asians have orga­nized non-prof­its, col­lec­tives, and vol­un­teer groups to address these chal­lenges, raise aware­ness, and orga­nize South Asians for social change.

The Nation­al Coali­tion of South Asian Orga­ni­za­tions is a net­work of com­mu­ni­ty-based orga­ni­za­tions that believe in com­mon prin­ci­ples relat­ed to social change, and that pro­vide ser­vices to, work with, con­vene, orga­nize and advo­cate for South Asians in the Unit­ed States. SAALT cur­rent­ly coor­di­nates the Nation­al Coali­tion.

Objectives

The Nation­al Coali­tion is a vehi­cle and forum through which com­mu­ni­ty-based orga­ni­za­tions can enhance their indi­vid­ual work and devel­op col­lec­tive part­ner­ships in order to bring about social change. The Nation­al Coali­tion will devel­op the strength of the com­mu­ni­ty’s voice in social change move­ments at the local and nation­al lev­els

South Asians nav­i­gate the inter­sec­tions of gen­der, race, nation­al ori­gin, reli­gious affil­i­a­tion, class, immi­gra­tion sta­tus, and sex­u­al ori­en­ta­tion, often on a dai­ly basis. For exam­ple, South Asians have faced dis­crim­i­na­tion and mar­gin­al­iza­tion rang­ing from immi­gra­tion restric­tions that began in the ear­ly twen­ti­eth cen­tu­ry and con­tin­ue to today; the impact of sex­ism, homo­pho­bia, and class-based bias; the strug­gle to gain equi­table treat­ment in the work­place and at schools; the chal­lenges faced by elder­ly and young South Asians; and the effects of tar­get­ing and pro­fil­ing in the wake of Sep­tem­ber 11th, to name a few. Yet, South Asian expe­ri­ences, needs, and per­spec­tives are often miss­ing from pol­i­cy debates and deci­sion mak­ing at the local and nation­al lev­el. A Nation­al Action Agen­da comes about as a result of our recog­ni­tion that issues affect­ing South Asian com­mu­ni­ties must be includ­ed in pol­i­cy-lev­el dis­cus­sions in order to pro­mote social jus­tice.

Statements From The CoaLition