Kids Corner

People

Valarie Kaur Named One of 13 Progressive Faith Leaders to Watch in 2013

JACK JENKINS, ELENI TOWNS, & CATHERINE WOODIWISS

 

 

 

2012 was a pivotal year for the progressive faith movement. While political and theological conservatives suffered a series of strategic defeats at both the state and federal level, religious progressives across the country organized to meet the challenges of poverty, climate change, and voter disenfranchisement, among other issues.

In the midst of this political shift, innovative progressive faith leaders and activists from a variety of religious backgrounds rose to prominence in 2012. As we look at this year -- where debates over gun-violence prevention, immigration, marriage equality, and climate change are heating up -- the Center for American Progress’s Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative has compiled a list of the 13 progressive faith leaders who we expect will take the lead on these and other issues in 2013.

Sikh-American Valarie Kaur joins the following 12 on this illustrious list of great promise:

Sister Simone Campbell, Richard Cizik, Rev Delman Coates, Rabbi Laurie Coskey, Very Rev Gary R. Hall, Rev Debbie Lee, Ben Lowe, Pastor Michael McBride, Rev Cameron Partridge, Rev Gabriel Salguero, Remziya Suleyman and the “faith-based organizer”. 

Of the 13 thus named, Valarie Kaur is the only one who hails from and represents a non-Abrahamic faith -- that is, not Christian, Jewish or Muslim.

VALARIE KAUR

Valarie Kaur -- filmmaker, civil rights advocate, and organizer -- is a standout figure in the world of interfaith organizing and activism.

In addition to helping lead campaigns for racial dignity, religious pluralism, immigrant rights, prison reform, and gay and transgender and gender equality, Valarie Kaur was recently put in charge of Groundswell, a nonprofit initiative of Auburn Seminary that uses online tools to help people of faith mobilize for social action.

As Founding Director of the initiative, which is dynamically strengthening faith-based organizing in the 21st century, Valarie Kaur is making headway toward achieving a goal long sought by faith-based activists: making interfaith open-source organizing efficient and accessible to the masses.

A third-generation Sikh American, Valarie Kaur also advocated for the victims of last August’s shooting in a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, visiting the town several times in the aftermath of the tragedy, and playing a leading role in the relief efforts.

As Groundswell grows and as Sikh-Americans join with others to mobilize to expand federal hate-crime classifications, look for Valarie Kaur and her innovative work to continue to be at the forefront of progressive change.


THE FAITH-BASED ORGANIZER

Often the unsung heroes of the progressive faith movement, faith-based organizers -- including those who are the backbone of the Sikh community worldwide -- are rapidly expanding their ability to use community-organizing tactics to influence policy debates.

Established community-organizing groups such as People Improving Communities through Organizing, Industrial Areas Foundation, and other organizations used highly trained faith-based organizers to help win a slew of state-level progressive victories in 2012 -- proving once again the value of congregation-based organizing.

Similarly, smaller grassroots efforts led by concerned church members helped defeat voter disenfranchisement efforts in Florida this past year, and faith activists also played a key role in defeating a conservative-backed effort to set a constitutional limit on revenue collection and spending in Florida.

We can expect on-the-ground organizing efforts to exert even more influence in 2013, as faith-based campaigns for progressive policies become increasingly sophisticated and data driven. Indeed, faith-based organizers have already made their voices heard this year on gun-violence prevention and immigration reform.

With elevated national debates on climate change and marriage equality just around the corner, it’s a safe bet that you will be hearing more about progressive faith-based organizers in the coming year.


[Courtesy: Center for American Progress. Edited for sikhchic.com]
March 2, 2013

Conversation about this article

Comment on "Valarie Kaur Named One of 13 Progressive Faith Leaders to Watch in 2013"









To help us distinguish between comments submitted by individuals and those automatically entered by software robots, please complete the following.

Please note: your email address will not be shown on the site, this is for contact and follow-up purposes only. All information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Sikhchic reserves the right to edit or remove content at any time.