School Teachers Learn About Sikhism Through Documentary Film "Dastaar"

September 12, 2005

Source: Sikh News Network

http://www.sikhnn.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=377&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

On September 12, 2005 the Sikh News Network reported, "On July 31, volunteers and staff from the Sikh Coalition and Kevin Lee, director of the movie ‘Dastaar,’ took fifteen schoolteachers to the gurdwara in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York. After guiding the teachers through the Sikh institution, the volunteers answered questions and explained the central tenants of the Sikh faith. The teachers came from across the country as part of a program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Many of the teachers have decided to screen the Dastaar video with their classes in order to explain who Sikhs are and more generally to educate their students on diversity. The documentary 'Dastaar,' by Kevin Lee, shows the struggle of the American-Sikh community to overcome the bias and intolerance often centered on Sikhs who wear articles of faith such as the Turban (dastaar). The film also explores how media imagery fuels association of the turban with terrorism, leading to widespread discrimination."