Remembering Oak Creek: One Year On
Last August, a gunman walked into a Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, leaving six dead and several injured.  It was a day that is etched into the minds of Sikhs around the globe.  While we would like to think that this tragedy is seen as an American tragedy, the mass shooting in Oak Creek did not...
White Supremacy: The Unspoken Truth
Co-blogged with Nina Chanpreet Kaur (source: Daily Record and Sunday Mail) “All the talking is done and now it’s time to walk the walk / Revolution’s in the air 9mm in my hand / You can run but you can’t hide from this master plan.” (Song lyrics by Wade Michael Page’s...
Transforming the Culture of Violence, as Sikhs
Disclaimer for non-Sikhs: In writing this, I am not in any way saying Sikhs are somehow more predisposed to violence than any other community. The last thing I want to do is perpetuate racist stereotypes about Sikhs. However, I write because I see an opportunity for introspection in our community. If...
A Sikh Stance on Gun Control
Guest Blogged by Nina Chanpreet Kaur The year 2012 has been a series of heartbreaks.  There is perhaps no greater pain than surviving a child. From Oak Creek, WI to the children whose lives were innocently lost in Newtown, CT and the millions of others who die as victims of violence every day, my heart...
Be Proud?
Guest blogged by Nina Chanpreet Kaur August 5th, 2012. 1:33pm. A text message from my best friend: “hostage situation at sikh temple in wisconsin. on al jazeera right now.” We pulled over and exchanged glances, holding our breath it wasn’t an attack perpetrated by someone within the Sikh...
Two Muslims attacked in one week by bigots (and the media)
Last week, two separate brutal attacks against Muslim men took place in Queens, New York.  On November 24th, 72-year-old Ali Akmal was nearly beaten to death while going on his early morning walk  and remains in critical, but stable, condition. CBS New York reports: Akmal’s tongue was so badly swollen...
Tracking Hate Crimes, Tracking the FBI’s Crimes
Over the last month since the horrific tragedy in Oak Creek, WI, Sikh civil rights organizations and other leaders in the community seem to have come to a consensus on what our collective demand should be to move forward — getting the FBI to track hate crimes against Sikhs.  A few weeks ago Valarie...
Teaching Children about Sikhs and Sikhism: Taking it a Step Further
Guest blogged by Amardeep Singh Recently I found myself in the odd position of being, for a brief moment, a sort of spokesperson for the Sikh-American community in the wake of the terrible shootings at a Sikh Gurdwara in Wisconsin. Page from the book, The Boy with Long Hair It’s odd for me because...
Letters Home
Guest blogged by Preeti Kaur The following is an excerpt from Preeti Kaur’s poem “Letters Home,” in honor of those lost and injured in Oak Creek, WI. Read the full poem here, and sign the petition to push the FBI to track hate crimes against Sikhs.   i travel the 5th udaasi i see no...
Wherefore art thou, Ricky Gill?
Ricky Gill is the son of Sikh parents and is running to represent California’s 9th Congressional District (photo: Ricky Gill campaign website) I have written several times in the past about Ranjit “Ricky” Gill, the Republican Party candidate for Congress in California’s 9th Congressional...
As a community we mourn, but together we will lead
During this past week following the tragic events in Wisconsin, our community has changed substantially. We have grown as a people and identified even more with Sikhi, standing up in a time of crisis, and responding in a positive and effective way, battling apathy with activism and suffering with solidarity. SALDEF’s SikhLEAD Leadership...
Sikhs vs. Sheiks
Needless to say, it’s been a tough week.  I have been grateful for all the thoughtful writing my Sikh brothers and sisters have been putting out through the mainstream and independent media and all the important conversations that have been happening here at TLH and beyond. That being said, sometimes...