SABA DE Press Release – Deepa Iyer DMEAST_10153289
Wilmington, Delaware, March 10, 2016 – The South Asian Bar Association of Delaware (SABA-DE) will host a book reading and discussion with Deepa Iyer, author of We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future, on April 11, 2016 at the Carvel State Building. The Delaware Human Relations Commission, Potter Anderson &Corroon LLP, Skadden, Morris James LLP and Ballard Spahr LLP are sponsoring the program which is free to the community.
Deepa Iyer currently serves as Senior Fellow at The Center for Social Inclusion, and has held various positions in non-profit, academic and government agencies. She was the executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade, an Activist-in-Residence at the University of Maryland’s Asian American Studies program, and a Trial Attorney at the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
In her new book published by The New Press in November 2015, Deepa draws on these experiences to shed light on the post 9/11 climate in the United States. We have “yet to fully confront the scope and effects of racial anxiety, Islamophobia and xenophobia,” she writes in her book, which weaves stories of young activists who work across intersections of race, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, and faith to organize their communities and participate in resistance movements.
Deepa’s book, which was recently listed on the American Library Association’s top 10 books in multicultural non-fiction, also places post 9/11 America in a larger context – that of America’s changing racial demographics. As communities of color grow in population size, how will they gain economic, political and cultural power and equity? What are the roles of South Asian, Arab and Muslim immigrants in fostering multiracial unity by centralizing Black liberation?
The Library Journal calls the book “[a] welcome addition to the growing literature of race, ethnicity, and religion from the perspectives of immigrant groups within the United States. Both the general public and policymakers will benefit.” Congresswoman Judy Chu notes: “[w]ith years of experience in civil rights advocacy, Deepa Iyer’s book is an important contribution to the work of building a stronger and more inclusive democracy.
The event on April 11th will begin at 5:30 p.m. with refreshments and include a book signing after the reading and discussion.Although the event is free to the public, pre-registration is required. Please contact Emilie atninane@ballardspahr.com for more information.
SABA-DE is a voluntary bar organization with a mission to serve the needs of attorneys, law students, other individuals and communities of South Asian descent, and act as a resource regarding the increasing social, economic, and legal intersections between the U.S. and South Asia. For more information on SABA-DE, visit www.sabade.org.
DMEAST #10153289 v2
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