CBS’s Religion & Culture documentary series will launch an episode featuring youth from minority faiths, including the Sikh American community, on Sunday, March 31st.
The CBS episode, titled “Religion & Identity in Young America,” will deepen the conversation about the impact of religious-based bullying and the work being done within the Sikh community to collectively combat the problem. It features multiple Sikh interviews – including a former Sikh Coalition legal client and his family, a Sikh psychologist and a New Jersey Sikh community leader.
“The story of bullying in American schools is rarely told,” said Sikh Coalition Executive Director, Satjeet Kaur. “But I am confident this new CBS episode highlighting this problem will inspire youth to know they are not alone, as our organization continues to empower the community and educate.”
The Sikh Coalition is leading a multi-year campaign to address the issue of bullying in schools nationwide. In 2014, the Sikh Coalition launched the first-ever comprehensive report examining Sikh bullying in schools. In 2015, the Sikh Coalition settled a landmark anti-bullying case with the Department of Justice that now better protects over 100,000 children from bullying. The national civil rights organization continues working to combat this issue through its free legal aid for students and families, educational resources and work to ensure Sikhism is included in state educational standards.
Last year, the Sikh Coalition released a comprehensive toolkit for parents and educators with resources to make classrooms more inclusive. Additionally, as part of its campaign to ensure that students have the opportunity to learn about the Sikh faith and community, the organization has worked with Sikhs and policymakers across the U.S. to secure updates in eight state education standards that now include accurate information about Sikhism, impacting up to 15 million students.
“We have a collective responsibility to ensure that our nation’s schools are safe for all children, and this CBS episode will help reinforce that accountability on a national scale,” said Sikh Coalition Education Director, Pritpal Kaur.
The Sikh Coalition has been supporting the CBS production team, pitching the idea, providing background resource material and facilitating all of the Sikh interviews. Additionally, the CBS team spent a day filming Khalsa school students and the Junior Sikh Coalition at the Guru Nanak Mission Gurudwara in Oakland, New Jersey and separately filmed Jewish and Muslim community members for the episode.
“Religion & Identity in Young America” will begin airing in regional media markets across the United States on March 31st. At that time, it will also be available to watch on digital platforms, including the CBS News website and YouTube. For a complete list of television airtime schedules, please visit the complete listing.
