SOUTH ASIAN AMERICANS LEADING TOGETHER

SOUTH ASIAN AMERICANS LEADING TOGETHER IS A NATIONAL MOVEMENT STRATEGY AND ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION COMMITTED TO RACIAL JUSTICE THROUGH STRUCTURAL CHANGE. SINCE 2021, SAALT HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED ITS INTERNAL POLITICAL EDUCATION AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND SLOWLY DECREASED ITS EXTERNAL PROGRAMMING. FOR THE POLICY, ADVOCACY, AND COMMUNICATIONS WORK, THIS MEANT SHIFTING AWAY FROM DATA COLLECTION AND GRASSROOTS LOBBYING TO ANALYZING THE ROOT CAUSES OF HATE VIOLENCE AND THE INCREASE IN SOUTH ASIAN ASYLUM SEEKERS, REFUGEES, AND UNDOCUMENTED POPULATIONS ENTERING THE U.S. THIS INFORMED SAALT'S INTERNAL SHIFTS TO MOBILIZE STAFF AND BOARD AS THE FIRST COMMUNITY OF ACCOUNTABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN REGULAR CAPACITY BUILDING AND POLITICAL EDUCATION SESSIONS. IN 2023, SAALT USED THIS COLLECTIVE LEARNING TO SHARPEN ITS IDENTITY AND PURPOSE AFTER REALIZING THE NEED TO BECOME INTENTIONALLY FOCUSED ON ISSUES IMPACTING SOUTH ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES THROUGH THE LENS OF CASTE. AFTER CONCLUDING THE HATE VIOLENCE SURVIVORS PROJECT AT THE END OF Q1 TO UNDERSTAND THE CULTURAL IMPACT OF HATE VIOLENCE BY LEARNING DIRECTLY FROM INDIVIDUAL SURVIVORS, SAALT STAFF AND BOARD DEDICATED THE REST OF 2023 TO A PERIOD OF CHRYSALIS TO CREATE AN INTERNAL ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE THAT REFLECTED SAALT'S EXTERNAL VALUES. FROM THIS UNPRECEDENTED ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICE OF VALUES AT THE SCALE OF BOARD AND STAFF, EMERGED THE FOUNDATION OF A CULTURAL STRATEGY BASED ON INDIVIDUAL AND RELATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF CASTE IN SOUTH ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES.