(l to r) Zahra Billoo, Amardeep Singh, Delphine Hirasuna, Danielle Reyes, Peggy Saika
AAPIP’s upcoming community reception, program and private viewing of The Art of Gaman Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946 will serve as a framework to draw on the experiences of Japanese Americans interned during World War II and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities in post–9/11 America.
Zahra Billo of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Amardeep Singh of The Sikh Coalition will share their observations on the role of philanthropy and government in times of crisis. To learn more about Amardeep and Zahra, read their brief bios that follow. The program will include welcoming remarks by Danielle Reyes, Program Officer, Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation and Chair of the AAPIP Board of Directors, and by Peggy Saika, President/Executive Director, AAPIP. Delphine Hirasuna, the author and curator of the exhibit will also be conducting a book signing and lead the private gallery viewing.
Learn more about our community partner speakers below:
Zahra Billoo, Programs and Outreach Director, Council on American Islamic Relations (SF Bay Area office)
Zahra Billoo is the Programs and Outreach Director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, San Francisco Bay Area office, a national American Muslim civil rights advocacy organization. While in college, Zahra was a student leader serving as an Executive Officer for the California State Student Association and Muslim Student Association (MSA) West. She has been a devoted labor rights advocate for years and started as an intern for a local chapter of the California Faculty Association, a labor union for California State University (CSU) faculty members. She later worked as Field Organizer for the Service Employees International Union, and was awarded the Peggy Browning Fund Fellowship to work with the National Employment Law Project. Zahra graduated Cum Luade from California State University, Long Beach with a B.S. in Human Resources Management and B.A. in Political Science. She completed her law degree at the University of California, Hastings College of Law, and was recently admitted to the California Bar.
Amardeep Singh, Co-Founder/Program Director, The Sikh Coalition
Amardeep Singh is the co-founder and Program Director of the Sikh Coalition, the nation’s largest Sikh American civil rights organization. He currently serves as its Director of Programs where he oversees the Coalition’s use of litigation, advocacy, community organizing, and strategic communications to advance social justice goals. In that role, Mr. Singh has represented dozens of Sikh victims of airport profiling, employment discrimination, and hate crimes. Along with Department of Homeland Security officials, he has also helped shape guidelines governing the searches of Sikh passengers in U.S. airports. He has represented the Sikh community during meetings with the United States Attorney General, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of Transportation, and the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He has been quoted speaking on civil rights issues in the New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN during his tenure at the Coalition. Prior to joining the Coalition, Mr. Singh worked as a Researcher in the U.S. Program of Human Rights Watch (HRW). While at HRW, he authored the report, We Are Not the Enemy: Hate Crimes Against Arabs, Muslims, and Those Perceived to be Arab or Muslim after September 11.