Junior Sikh Coalition

The Junior Sikh Coalition (JSC) is a student-led initiative of the Sikh Coalition, the US Sikh civil rights organisation. The Coalition says it exists because Sikh youth often meet hostility and ignorance at school, including bullying, feel pressure to give up their Sikh identity to assimilate, and often have no safe place to talk about it.

How it works: Members get a year of intensive leadership training and mentorship from Sikh Coalition staff, then share what they learn with other young people. By the Coalition's count, 88 high school and college students from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have taken part since August 2012, and it had run for seven consecutive years when the page was written.

What members have done:

• Published Nirbhau Nirvair, a poetry and art book compiled by the youth.
• Given anti-bullying workshops to hundreds of Sikh young people each year, and partnered with the White House and the New York City Department of Education on anti-bullying work.
• Held women's empowerment events, mental health discussions and open mic nights, and made a web show to raise the Sikh profile.
• Served free langar to New York City shelters and volunteered at events such as the New York City Marathon.
• Ran a national art and poetry contest for Sikh youth in 2020, during the pandemic.

Where it stands: The Sikh Coalition's page says that “the Junior Sikh Coalition has been temporarily suspended for 2022” because of the COVID-19 pandemic and asks readers to check back for updates. The page as opened does not say whether it has resumed. Schools can still request a Sikh Awareness presentation or anti-bullying workshop from the Coalition itself.