The Michigan Sikh community is too often recognized only in moments of crisis, visibility, or misunderstanding. Politicians may attend community events, praise diversity, or issue statements after hate incidents, but real representation requires more than symbolic outreach. It requires listening to what communities are actually saying and turning those concerns into policy. That is why Umeed conducted a preliminary survey of Michigan Sikhs: to begin a broader listening effort

In recent months, violence targeting places of worship, including incidents like the shooting at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, has forced faith communities across the country to confront a difficult and unsettling reality: the spaces meant to offer peace, reflection, and belonging are no longer guaranteed to be safe. For many, houses of worship are more than religious institutions. They are community centers, classrooms, gathering spaces, and cultural anchors. They host c

Throughout American history, limits have been placed on voting to disenfranchise marginalized groups of people while protecting the rights of others. Poll taxes once forced Americans to pay for the right to vote. The grandfather clause ensured that only certain families could access that right at all. While these policies are now illegal, the question remains: what happens when barriers to voting do not disappear, but simply evolve? Today, Michigan finds itself confronting a