November 30, 2007
Dear County and District Superintendents:
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE ABOUT SIKH AMERICANS
During and after the 2005 History–Social Science Primary Adoption, the California Department of Education and State Board of Education (SBE) received extensive testimony from members of the Sikh community on how to better incorporate materials on Sikhs into the history–social science curriculum.
The Sikh population in California has some 50,000 members, and includes large communities in the agricultural towns in the Central Valley. Members of the Sikh community have testified to the SBE that Sikhs have been targets of hate crimes, especially in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, by Americans who mistakenly identify them as Arab or Muslim.
Public Broadcasting station KVIE in Sacramento has agreed to allow free distribution of a short video entitled, “Meet the Sikhs.” This video is available in QuickTime format on the KVIE Web site at KVIE Outreach (Outside Source). I encourage you to make use of this video to inform students about the roles and contributions of Sikhs to the history of California.
If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Suzanne Rios, Administrator, Instructional Resources Unit, at 916-319-0665 or by e-mail at srios@cde.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
JACK O’CONNELL
JO:km
cc: Onkar Bindra, Sikh Temple Sacramento
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814