Valarie Kaur
Valarie Kaur belongs to a Sikh family which had shifted to Clovis (near Fresno) California, U.S.A.,a century ago. Valarie was born and brought up in this town. She earned her degrees in religion and International relations from Stanford University. Later on she also obtained a Master’s degree in theoretical
studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Law Degree from Yale Law School. She was highly influenced by
the Terrorists attacks in U.S.A. followed by Racial attacks on Sikhs. When family friend S. Balbir Singh Sodhi
was murdered, she set out across America to chronicle hate crimes against Sikh and Muslim Americans. She
started making films, fighting cases as a Civil Rights Lawyer, and writing stories to drive social change. She
is the founder of Grounds Well Movement, America’s largest multifaith online organizing community of
20000+ known for dynamically strengthening faith-based organizing in the 21st Century. She also founded
the Yale visual Law Project where she trains students to make films that change policy.
The films made by her brought her international fame and awards. Divided we Fall (2008) made on hate
crimes inspired a woman in this regard in University and College campuses. It was shown in 200 US Cities.
The Documentary STIGMA (2011) is about the impact of Newyork City Police’s Stop and Frisk policy.
Alienation (2011) is about immigration rates. The worst of the worst Portrait of a Supermax (2012) is a
documentary on the use of Solitary Confinement in Prison and oak creek : in Memorium (2012) is a short
film about the 2012 mass shooting at a Sikh Gurdwara in Wisconsin. She is a role model in the sense that she
combine in her personality a successful lawyer, a film maker and an entrepreneur. Her activism has focused
on Gun Violence prevention, racial profiling, immigration detention and prison practices and Internet
neutrality. She has educated the people on these issues through her lectures, interviews and films. She has
given speeches at the White House, the Pentagon and the Parliament of the World Religions. Presently, she
is living with her husband in Los Angeles, C.A.
