Tomorrow, Tuesday February 9, is the vote in the Oregon House on teachers wearing religious dress. It will be followed later by the more conservative Senate. How good a change in the existing law would be for so many people!
At the last House committee meeting there was a Muslim woman who said "I am a really good chemistry teacher. I just want to follow my passion to teach chemistry to young people who also have a passion for chemistry."
Ajeet Singh's example below is even more poignant considering the Sikh teacher fired in the mid-80's was a highly respected special education teacher. I personally knew her, and saw how she helped kids that had less opportunity to excel. But, because of her outward appearance, had to cease helping these under represented kids in our community. It was doubly sad.
It's certainly time for Oregon to join a world with different faiths and colors. And with so many national organizations voicing concern over civil rights, Oregon will face considerable embarrassment if the repeal is denied. Even the national ACLU is a bit embarrassed by the bias of Oregon's ACLU – the loudest voice in the denial for repeal. The State's racist past is getting national attention. If the legislators can overturn this, it will place Oregon again in the forefront of positive change. A denial would be a true step back into the past.
“It is amazing that Oregon, of all places, would want to keep religious minorities from getting a fair shot at public school jobs,” said Eric Rassbach, National Litigation Director at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “Why should anyone care if Mr. Singh wears a turban while teaching physics class?”
“You wouldn’t think that the ACLU would be channeling the Klan,” said Rassbach. “But sadly the ACLU is doing everything it can to keep religious Jews, Sikhs, Muslims, and Catholics from being public school teachers.”
As Oregon considers whether to repeal an antiquated ban on religiously observant teachers in its public schools, seventeen (17) interfaith, civil rights, and Bar association organizations, led by the Sikh Coalition, issued a group letter yesterday urging Oregon's legislature to overturn the ban and give equal opportunity to religious minorities in the state.
Oregon's controversial ban on religious dress originated in the 1920s as an anti-Catholic measure and was supported by the Ku Klux Klan at a time of overt hostility toward racial and religious minorities. Other laws enacted at the same time discriminated against Japanese consumers and Latino business owners; those other laws have since been repealed, but Oregon is currently one of only three states in the United States that forbid teachers from wearing religious dress in the public schools. In a historic effort, Oregon House Speaker Dave Hunt is spearheading an effort to finally repeal this outdated law in the Oregon legislature.
How Oregon Law Impacts Ajeet Singh
To put Oregon's law into perspective, consider the effect it would have on Ajeet Singh. Ajeet is a doctoral candidate at Columbia University and an alumnus of Teach For America, a prestigious community service organization that strives to eliminate educational inequity in public schools. Ajeet served as a history teacher for the neediest students at the toughest public schools in Brooklyn, NY, but his students broke achievement records for the annual state examination. Despite Ajeet's demonstrated track record of excellence as a teacher, he would be prohibited from working as a public school teacher in Oregon because of his Sikh identity.
Click here to read Ajeet's written testimony to the Oregon legislature
Sign Our Petition
If you support the cause of equal opportunity, and if you want students of the 21st century to have access to the best and brightest minds, like Ajeet Singh, without discrimination on the basis of religion, please sign our petition to the Oregon legislature today. It is time for Oregon to embrace diversity and end the state's discriminatory ban on religious minorities.
Calling All Sikh Public School Teachers!
If you are a current or former teacher (or substitute teacher), and if you have ever taught in an American public school while wearing your dastaar, tell us your story. Please contact Rajdeep Singh at [email protected] or by calling (202) 747-4944.
