SACRED at The Public Narrative Conference

This month, SACRED co-hosted a panel discussion at Public Narrative’s Connecting Media and Community: Reframing Purpose, Possibility, and Partnerships Conference in Hyde Park. The conference brought together journalists, community organizers, and civic leaders to learn how to navigate rebuilding public trust and maintaining your values in today’s media landscape.

The panel, “From Zohran Mamdani to Usha Vance: Understanding our Diverse, Vibrant, and Growing South Asian American Community,” welcomed 25 attendees and featured Rummana Hussain, Opinions Page Editor and Columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times; Pushkar Sharma, SACRED’s Executive Director; journalist Ankur Singh; and moderator Adora Namigadde.

Pushkar Sharma introduced panel participants and attendees to the history of the South Asian American community, including the contemporary issues faced by the community today. Rummana Hussain discussed her in-depth reporting on issues like the exclusionary language used in the creation of the Indian American Advisory Council, and the recent Chicagoland visit of Sadhvi Ritambhara, an anti-democratic South Asian leader whose rhetoric has incited violence against minorities in India for multiple decades. Ankur Singh also reflected on his firsthand experience witnessing Ritambhara’s recent visit and his subsequent reporting of the event for Progressive Magazine. Moderator Adora Namigadde guided the conversation with thoughtful questions rooted in her commitment to understanding how caste discrimination and anti-democratic ideologies affect local and global dynamics.

SACRED thanks Public Narrative for providing a space to discuss the complexities within South Asian American communities and the increase of disinformation, foreign influence, and powerful private interests that shape public understanding.

Panelist:

Pushkar Sharma:
Pushkar Sharma is the Co-Founder & Executive Director of SACRED, an Illinois-based organization working to strengthen our just and inclusive democracy. A 2024 Soros Equality Fellow, Pushkar is an organizer, strategist, and peacebuilder who has worked with the United Nations in South Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. He served as the Gaza Director for the UN Humanitarian Access Unit for two years based in Gaza City. Pushkar has worked for Pratham, India’s largest education organization. A Cook County Human Rights Commissioner, he holds an MPA in International Conflict Resolution and a BA in International Affairs and Drama. He serves on the board of Hindus for Human Rights Action and has served previously on the board of New Leaders Council - Chicago.

Rummana Hussain:

Rummana Hussain is the opinions page editor and a columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times. Most recently, she also served on the editorial board. During her career at the newspaper, she had stints as an assistant metro editor, criminal courts reporter, general assignment reporter and assistant to columnist Michael Sneed.

Before heading to the Sun-Times, Rummana covered education and criminal courts in Lake County for the Chicago Tribune and was assigned the crime, education and City Hall beats for the City News Bureau of Chicago. Rummana was named a Jefferson fellow by the East-West Center in 2006. She has served on the board of the Chicago Headline Club and the local chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association.

She is a current board member of the local chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Silk Road Rising, a community-based artmaking and arts service organization that focuses on the Asian, Middle Eastern and Muslim experience.

Adora Namigadde:
Adora Namigadde (pronounced "nummy GUH deh") is a local journalist with a deep passion for the ways faith and belief shape our world. She regularly contributes to NPR, WBEZ and Religion News Service and has been reporting for more than a decade. Ever since she began learning about Hindu supremacy and caste discrimination, she became interested in the largely unacknowledged ways they shape global and local affairs. She is looking forward to continuing to improve her literacy in this area, educate others, and learn from her panelists.

Ankur Singh:

Ankur Singh is a Cicero-based, Chicago-adjacent freelance journalist and organizer. His work has been published in The Washington Post, In These Times, Chicago Reader, Prism Reports, Truthout, the Progressive Magazine, and more. He is a co-founder of the hyperlocal, bilingual news outlet Cicero Independiente. As an organizer, he has worked on numerous campaigns ranging from environmental justice, labor, electoral, and immigration.