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Model tells
America how Sikhs are different
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Kenneth Cole campaign comes at a time when there are still
reports of hate crimes and victimization of Sikhs |
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Washington:
They have gained a reputation as fearless fighters and fabulous
farmers. They have a genius with things mechanical and they are
frontiersmen in exploration. Now, a 20-foot high mural in Midtown
Manhattan and a slick new video of a handsome young Sikh is
explaining the famed Indian community to the world while seeking to
overturn prejudice and stereotype that has followed them in the
post-9/11 era.
Sandeep ‘‘Sonny’’
Singh Caberwal is the talk — and toast — of the community for
becoming the poster boy for Kenneth Cole, the American fashion
designer, in his new campaign titled ‘‘We all walk in different
shoes,’’ celebrating what is being called the company’s ‘‘25 years
of non-uniform thinkers’’. Although the campaign features other
unusual representatives, such as an Israeli and Palestinian film
director duo and an HIV positive magazine editor, it’s Caberwal’s
striking visage that is attracting attention in a country where
every new face has its few seconds of fame.
The Kenneth Cole
campaign comes at a time when there are still reports of hate crimes
and victimization of Sikhs in the west despite efforts by community
activists and organizations like Sikh Coalition and United Sikhs to
educate the people. Only last week, a New Jersey woman was arrested
after trying to remove the turban of a Sikh man in a bar.
Caberwal is an
entrepreneur, coowner of the Tavalon Tea Company in New York City.
An alumnus of Duke University, North Carolina, and a graduate of
Washington DC’s Georgetown University Law School, he is also an
accomplished tabla player who has cut a record.
6 February 2008
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