In terms of civil rights violations, Sikh Americans are one of the most vulnerable populations in the country.  In the post 9/11 environment, such individuals have been the target of hate crimes, job discrimination, and harrassment by government entities like the TSA.  The fact that the world's 5th largest religion is the subject of such treament makes this issue one of the more important civil rights causes in the US.

Consulting Within Reach is supporting this cause by guiding The Sikh Coalition, the leader in defending the civil rights of this population.  We are guiding their first comprehensive strategic planning process since the organization's inception in 2001.

The planning process is espcially critical as the organization has reached an important point in its life stage.  The first years were filled with urgent responses to one crisis after another.  Now, the leadership is trying to take a deep breath and figure out where it proactively wants to head.  In particular, it recognizes that Sikh Americans are in some ways "the canary in the coal mine" when it comes to civil rights violations: discriminatory practices first applied to this very visible and vulnerable demographic could easily widen out in its impact against other minority groups.  What the agency chooses to focus on thus will have broader implications for the civil rights landscape beyond just Sikh Americans.

Consulting Within Reach feels it is a privilege to be chosen to guide this critical process.  As an agency filled with people of color (and founded and led by one), we reasonate deeply with the cause of civil rights agencies like The Sikh Coalition.