Education & training
Sonny has over two decades of experience facilitating workshops and giving talks on anti-oppression, racial equity, and social justice issues. He regularly leads trainings for nonprofit organizations, activist groups, schools, and colleges/universities, and is sought after for his transformative approach to education and social change. His pedagogical approach centers reflection, honest dialogue, and critical systemic analysis. Sonny is a longtime member of the training team at Race Forward. In the last year, he has been a featured speaker and music performer at National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of Color Conference, University of Vermont’s Inclusive Excellence Symposium, and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) conference.
Sonny has been active in movements for social and economic justice since he was a teenager and worked as a labor and community organizer in his 20s. He received his Master’s Degree in Social Justice Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he studied and practiced the art of using education as a tool for liberation.
Sonny’s writing on racial politics, Sikhs in America, Islamophobia, and more have been published in the Huffington Post, India Abroad, The Langar Hall, Colorlines, Sikh Chic, Left Turn, Asian American Literary Review, Race, Class, and Gender in the United States (9th Edition), and Open City Magazine. He was a 2014-2015 Open City Fellow for the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, covering stories in Richmond Hill, Queens.
Sonny is currently a board member of TakeRoot Justice.
Sample Trainings & Lectures
Chardi Kala: Radical Optimism in a Time of Crisis (with music)
Becoming a Sage Warrior (with music)
Anti-Oppression Reflection, Analysis, and Practice
Fundamentals of Racial Equity
Talking About Race in the Classroom
Education for Liberation: Popular Education Facilitation
Fight the Power! An Introduction to Organizing for Social Change
An American Tragedy: Sikhs, the Oak Creek shooting, and post-9/11 racism in America
Addressing Bias-based Bullying in Schools
Islamophobia and Post-9/11 Backlash Violence
The Sikh Revolution: Sikhism and Social Justice (with music option)
Sikhism 101 (with music option)
Immigrant Rights and Xenophobia in the United States
To book Sonny for a training or talk, email education@sonnysingh.com.