WASHINGTON, DC — Today (Oct. 5, 2020), national civil rights group Muslim Advocates announced that it will honor Taneeza Islam, leader of South Dakota Voices for Peace, with the Muslims Making Change National Honor. Islam will be honored with the COVID-19 Response Award on October 14, 2020 at the Muslims Making Change: National Honors ceremony for her remarkable efforts to protect the largely immigrant and refugee workers of the Smithfield meatpacking facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the epicenter of America’s largest COVID-19 outbreak in April.
Islam was chosen from over 175 nominations made by the public seeking American Muslims showing leadership during the defining issues of 2020: civil society and civic engagement, racial justice and COVID-19 relief.
The Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls is one of the city’s largest employers, with a workforce made up largely of immigrants and refugees speaking over 80 languages and hailing from places like Myanmar, Ethiopia, Nepal, Congo and El Salvador. The plant’s negligence in protecting its workers created the largest COVID-19 outbreak in America, leading to over 1,300 infections and 4 deaths amongst its workers.
In response, Islam helped form the South Dakota Dream Coalition to raise $938,000 for an emergency relief fund expected to help nearly 3,000 immigrant households across the state. She also organized rallies, engaged in media advocacy, translated COVID-19 materials into multiple languages in an English-only state, and advocated to local leaders and Smithfield for adequate protections for workers. With these advocacy efforts, Smithfield was one of the only plants to shut down for 14 days .
“When her community was hit harder than any in America, Taneeza Islam stepped up to protect the most marginalized and exploited people in South Dakota,” said Scott Simpson, public advocacy director for Muslim Advocates. “When South Dakota needed an advocate, Islam went to work to protect people’s health and wellbeing, raise relief funds, and push for the basic protections these workers have the right to. She took on big business, state and local officials and the White House all at once—and these families are healthier and more stable because of it.”
“Over 90 percent of the workers in Smithfield are immigrants and refugees. Our positive COVID-19 rate peaked at 70 percent people of color, in a state that is 82 percent White/Caucasian,” said Taneeza Islam, executive director of South Dakota Voices for Peace. “The organizing efforts we’ve implemented since 2017 prepared us to assure that impacted voices in our community would be heard. The immense and immediate philanthropic generosity to assist meat processing plant workers motivated us to work day and night to build the Emergency Relief Fund for Immigrants in SD.”
Muslims Making Change: National Honors is a free and online event streaming at 7 PM ET on October 14th honoring American Muslims from across the country making a difference on the defining issues of 2020, including Racial Justice, Civil Society, and COVID Relief. More information on this award and the other honorees is available at www.muslimsmakingchange.org.
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