Valarie Kaur

Valarie Kaur
Born Clovis, California
Residence Los Angeles, California
Education Stanford University (B.A. Religion and International Relations)
Harvard Divinity School (M.A. Theology)
Yale Law School (J.D.)
Occupation Documentary filmmaker, civil rights activist
Website valariekaur.com

Valarie Kaur (born February 14, 1981) is an American civil rights activist, documentary filmmaker, lawyer, educator and faith leader.[1] She was born and raised in Clovis, California, where her family settled as Sikh farmers in 1913.[2] When a family friend was the first person killed in a hate crime after September 11, 2001, she began to document hate crimes against Sikh and Muslim Americans, which resulted in the award-winning documentary film Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath.[3] Since then, she has made films and led story-based campaigns on hate crimes, racial profiling, immigration detention, solitary confinement, marriage equality, and Internet freedom.[4] She is the founder of Groundswell Movement,[5] considered "America's largest multifaith online organizing network,"[6] recognized for "dynamically strengthening faith-based organizing in the 21st century."[7] She is also co-founder of Faithful Internet which organizes people of faith to protect net neutrality.[8] She is currently the founder and director of the Revolutionary Love Project,[3] which produces stories, tools, and thought leadership to equip people to practice love as a public ethic and wellspring for social action.[9]

Kaur earned undergraduate degrees in Religious Studies and International Relations at Stanford University, a master's in theological studies at Harvard Divinity School, and a J.D. at Yale Law School.[10] She is a member of the California Bar.[11]

The Center for American Progress named Kaur "a standout figure in the world of interfaith organizing and activism."[12] In 2012, she received the American Courage Award by Asian Americans Advancing Justice.[13] In 2013, she was named a "Person of the Year" by India Abroad[14] and one of eight Asian American "Women of Influence" by Audrey Magazine.[15] In 2015, Kaur was recognized as a "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum.[16] In 2016, Harvard Divinity School awarded her the Peter J. Gomes Memorial Honor.[17]

Career

Kaur's filmmaking and activism have focused on gun violence prevention, racial profiling, immigration detention and prison practices, and Internet neutrality. Her activism has also included education work to combat hate crimes against Muslim and Sikh Americans. She founded the Groundswell Movement, a multifaith online organizing community,[18] and the Yale Visual Law Project.[19]

Kaur served as the Media and Justice Fellow at Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society, and co-founded Faithful Internet, a campaign to inform faith leaders on Internet neutrality issues.[20] She is the Scholar-in-Residence at Middle Collegiate Church[21] and Senior Fellow at Auburn Theological Seminary.[22] Kaur has given speeches at the White House,[23] the Pentagon,[24] and the Parliament of the World's Religions.[25]

Divided We Fall (2008) was Kaur's first film, created with director Sharat Raju. It was shown in 200 U.S. cities.[26] They have made other documentary films together, including Stigma (2011) about the impact of New York City police's Stop and Frisk policy,[27] Alienation (2011) about immigration raids,[28] The Worst of the Worst: Portrait of a Supermax (2012) about solitary confinement in prison,[29] and Oak Creek: In Memorium (2012) about the 2012 mass shooting at a Sikh gurdwara in Wisconsin.[30]

Awards

ReelWorld Film Festival

  • Won: Outstanding International Documentary (2007) - Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath[31]

Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

  • Won: Audience Choice: Best Documentary (2007) - Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath[31]

Asian Americans Advancing Justice

  • Won: American Courage Award (2012)[32]

India Abroad

  • Named: Person of the Year (2013)[33]

Audrey Magazine

  • Named: One of eight Asian American "Women of Influence"(2013)[34]

World Economic Forum

  • Named: A "Young Global Leader"(2015)[35]

Harvard Divinity School

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Valarie Kaur - SheSource Expert - Women's Media Center". www.womensmediacenter.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  2. ↑ "What Does Revolutionary Love Look Like? (part 1)". The Middle Project. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  3. 1 2 "In an era of 'enormous rage,' I'm still finding love in America". Public Radio International. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  4. ↑ "Valarie Kaur | SikhNet". SikhNet. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  5. ↑ "Groundswell". action.groundswell-mvmt.org. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  6. ↑ "New England Interfaith Student Summit with Valarie Kaur - Humanities Center". Humanities Center. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  7. ↑ "13 Progressive Faith Leaders to Watch in 2013 - Center for American Progress". Center for American Progress. 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  8. ↑ "Faithful Internet | Many Beliefs. One Internet". Faithful Internet. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  9. ↑ "We Declare Revolutionary Love as the Call of Our Times". Revolutionary Love. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  10. ↑ "Valarie Kaur". cyberlaw.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  11. ↑ California, The State Bar of. "Attorney Search : The State Bar of California". members.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  12. ↑ "13 Progressive Faith Leaders to Watch in 2013 - Center for American Progress". Center for American Progress. 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  13. ↑ "Jones Day | Jones Day hosts Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) Awards Luncheon". www.jonesday.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  14. ↑ "India Abroad - June 28, 2013 - 131". www.indiaabroad-digital.com. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  15. ↑ "Which Asian American Women Influence You? | Audrey's 8 Picks for Our Inaugural Women of Influence Series". Kore Asian Media. 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  16. ↑ "Young Global Leaders: the class of 2015 - The new generation of leaders". widgets.weforum.org. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  17. ↑ "Beyond 'Us and Them'". hds.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  18. ↑ "Groundswell". Groundswell. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  19. ↑ "Yale Law School - Visual Law Project | The Video Law Journal of Yale Law School". yalevisuallawproject.org. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  20. ↑ "Interfaith leaders find common ground promoting Internet freedom". Religion News Service. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  21. ↑ "Middle Notes: The Newsletter of Middle Collegiate Church" (PDF). May 2016.
  22. ↑ "Auburn Seminary launches nation's first multifaith leadership program for justice: Auburn Senior Fellows - Auburn Seminary". Auburn Seminary. 2015-05-19. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  23. ↑ "White House Celebrates Guru Nanak's Gurpurab". India Journal. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  24. ↑ Craig, Jonathan. "Commemorating the Sikh Faith at the Pentagon". stateofbelief.com. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  25. ↑ "Valarie Kaur Delivers Parliament Keynote Address | Parliament of the World's Religions". parliamentofreligions.org. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  26. ↑ "Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath". www.dwf-film.com. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  27. ↑ "Stigma". yalevisuallawproject.org. Archived from the original on 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  28. ↑ "Alienation". yalevisuallawproject.org. Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  29. ↑ "The Worst of the Worst". yalevisuallawproject.org. Archived from the original on 2016-05-20. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  30. ↑ "Remembering The Oak Creek Tragedy In Film". The Huffington Post. 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
  31. 1 2 "Divided we fall Americans in the aftermath". Indiana University. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  32. ↑ "Jones Day | Jones Day hosts Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) Awards Luncheon". www.jonesday.com. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  33. ↑ "India Abroad - June 28, 2013 - 131". www.indiaabroad-digital.com. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  34. ↑ "Which Asian American Women Influence You? | Audrey's 8 Picks for Our Inaugural Women of Influence Series". Kore Asian Media. 2013-09-04. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  35. ↑ "Young Global Leaders: the class of 2015 - The new generation of leaders". widgets.weforum.org. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  36. ↑ "Beyond 'Us and Them'". hds.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
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