1. Professional Growth: To provide our members with mentorship, professional development opportunities, and a referral network comprising Oregon legal professionals.
2. Diversity and Inclusion: To promote diversity and inclusion efforts within the state to further equal participation in the legal profession and greater representation of South Asians in the judiciary.
3. Civil Rights: To combat efforts to limit and marginalize South Asian and immigrant communities, and to voice the concerns and opinions of South Asians in the community generally, and in the legal profession in particular.
4. Access to Justice: To provide educational opportunities and information to the South Asian community by providing legal seminars and CLEs, and access to a network of pro bono services.
Student Liaison, Paril Patel
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I wanted to emphasize the exciting upcoming event at the Oregon Historical Society on Tuesday, June 25th at 6pm - "Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River", based on the fascinating research of Johanna Ogden.
In addition to this local event, I also wanted to highlight the important work being done nationally by SAADA, the South Asian American Digital Archive. Their mission is to document and share the diverse stories of South Asians in the United States, ensuring our community's history is recognized as an essential part of the American story.
One of SAADA's recent projects that I found particularly compelling is their book "Our Stories: An Introduction to South Asian America." It's an eye-opening look at the trials, tribulations and triumphs of South Asian Americans dating back over 100 years. I was surprised to learn details like:
As a community, it's so important that we understand and celebrate our roots and our hard-fought place in the American story; I encourage you all to explore further.
I hope to see many of you at the "Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River" event on June 25th. Johanna Ogden's thesis, which will be the focus of the event, provides additional fascinating details on the Ghadar movement's origins in Astoria and the greater Portland area in the early 1900s. A few key points that stood out to me:
I welcome your thoughts on how we can support SAADA's mission locally and ensure that pioneering South Asians like the Punjabi lumber workers turned revolutionaries of Oregon are recognized as part of our state's rich multicultural history. I look forward to continuing this conversation at the event and beyond.
First and foremost, to our brothers and sisters of the Black community: we hear you, we see you and we stand by your side in solidarity to fight for racial justice, to demand systemic change and to call upon our local and federal leaders for an equal America.
Unfortunately, this type of fear, discrimination and racism is not novel in America. We have seen police brutality, excessive force, wrongful arrests, racial profiling, biased incarceration, and discrimination for decades. Although progress has been made through exercising our freedom of speech, demanding legislation changes and peaceful protests, it has been made evident in the past few weeks that there is much more to do and further to go. Despite the fears and stay-at-home measures caused by COVID-19, it is obvious that this issue is more important than ever.
Many of us in the legal profession have faced the fear of discrimination and blatant racism. Whether it’s in the court room, applying for jobs or with the justice system itself, we know how unfair and helpless it feels to not have your own life and destiny in your hands. But what many of us don’t know, is how it feels to lose a loved one because of such injustice.
The death of George Floyd marks a moment of culmination for many of us, causing a break in the silence; lighting a flame for justice; and sparking a determination for lasting change. As many have taken to the streets to protest peacefully across the nation, many have also resorted to violence in various forms, causing harm to innocent people and more disruption to communities that need the help. We want to remind these communities that history has proven that true change comes from the sustained power of collective, thoughtful and pointed action.
We support those exercising their First Amendment rights and urge our local community to come together to make long-lasting change in laws and institutional practices.
As legal professionals, we are fortunate to have the skills that are needed to enact change, to call upon our leaders for justice, and to take part by giving to the cause. We join the fight by calling on our leaders and elected officials at all levels of our government, including Oregon public officials and Oregon Governor Kate Brown, to:
We also encourage our South Asian community members to better educate themselves about these
issues so that we can stand alongside our Black community members to advocate for systemic
change.
To assist with that education, we refer members to the following resources and reading list:
o https://blacklivesmatter.com;
o https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com;
o They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, And A New Era In America’s Racial Justice Movement by Wesley Lowery
o The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander; and
o The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Finally, to the extent members of our community have the ability to contribute, we encourage them to donate to the following organizations to help support the fight:
o Campaign Zero: An organization devoted to ending police violence through research and data and human rights information: https://www.joincampaignzero.org
o The Know Your Rights Campaign: https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com
o The NAACP Legal Defense Funds: https://www.naacpldf.org
The killing of George Floyd was not the first, and unless we take action now, it will not be the last.
Black. Lives. Matter.
*This statement reflects the position of the South Asian Bar Association of Oregon. It does not reflect the statements or opinions of the Oregon State Bar or any other bar association. Board Members with affiliation or association with the judicial and executive branch of the federal, state and local governments did not participate in the issuance of this statement.
SABA Oregon would like to express its deepest sympathy and condolences to the people and families who have suffered illness or loss of life due to the novel coronavirus.
During these unprecedented times, we want to re-assure you and our community that we are here to help, and that we will get through this together.
COVID-19 is a global and human issue, requiring each individual, despite their race, gender, political position, age, or title, to act on behalf of humanity as a whole. We urge our community to treat one another with respect, dignity and compassion while we fight through this pandemic together.
SABA-OR strongly condemns all xenophobic and racist rhetoric and actions that our brothers and sisters of the Asian community have endured in response to the spread of COVID-19. We encourage and call on our state and nation's law enforcement and prosecutors to investigate these inhumane acts as criminal acts of violence and hate crimes.
Please follow and share Governor Kate Brown's Executive Order which was signed into effect today, March 23, 2020. The Executive Order can be viewed here: https://govsite-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/jkAULYKcSh6DoDF8wBM0_EO%2020-12.pdf?fbclid=IwAR21vUeBpDF29hHY_K1X8weBoNsXgPK2AmZAZ9mAU-cJ_SzBnGw72z2-Ezg
Thank you and please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or support.
Stay home, save lives.
Best,
Somya Kaushik
SABA Oregon President
COVID-19 Resources:
http://www.oregon4biz.com/Coronavirus-Information/
https://greaterportlandinc.com/covid-business-resources
https://bizcenter.org/https-bizcenter-org-covid-19/
https://www.oregon.gov/employ/Pages/COVID-19.aspx
https://www.oregon.gov/employ/Documents/EDPUB190_0320.pdf
https://www.dol.gov/coronavirus
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa/pandemic
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla/pandemic
https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/wysk/wysk_ada_rehabilitaion_act_coronavirus.cfm
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