Monthly Archives: August 2012

Published on CNN.

The Republican National Convention will make history Wednesday night. Ishwar Singh, wearing a turban and beard, will take the stage and lead thousands of conservatives in prayer.

For the first time in U.S. history, a Sikh American will give the invocation at a Republican National Convention.

The inclusion of a Sikh prayer on the stage comes just a few weeks… Continue Reading

Published on CNN.

I have spent the past two weeks documenting the aftermath of what could be one of the deadliest racially motivated mass shootings in recent U.S. history. Through a camera lens, I’ve witnessed courage in the face of profound grief: families in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, mourning the dead, praying through tears and rebuilding their community in the Sikh spirit of chardi kala, a rising resilience even in darkness. But… Continue Reading

Published on CNN.

(CNN) — Last Saturday morning, when media crews outside the Sikh gurdwara (house of worship) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, packed up their trucks to chase the news of Mitt Romney’s choice for vice president, Sikh Americans were left reflecting on six days of unprecedented national attention. After the shooting of six people in a Sikh gurdwara, a stream of national leaders, from the… Continue Reading

Published on The Washington Post.

Sixteen days ago, a gunman opened fire in a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wis. One of the victims, Punjab Singh, is still fighting for his life in a Milwaukee hospital. I had never met him before, but when I went to visit him on Sunday, I did not see a stranger: I saw my grandfather.

In recent days, the… Continue Reading

Published on Salon.

On Wednesday night, Dalbir Singh was closing his store when three masked people approached and opened gunfire. He was shot in the head and died instantly. This crime fits the profile of thousands of failed attempted robberies in the U.S., except that Dalbir Singh is a turbaned Sikh man in Oak Creek, Wis.

Dalbir Singh was murdered just 10 days after… Continue Reading

“Shadow Generation” Talk w/Lynn Sherr – 2010

In the last week, I witnessed the pain and terrible grief of these children and their families who lost their mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts in the massacre. But I also witnessed a multifaith movement for justice help the Sikh community find the courage to rise and rebuild in a time of unprecedented national attention. Groundswell supporters, thank you.

When I presented the six volumes of letters on Sunday morning, your words… Continue Reading

Published on The Washington Post.

In the aftermath of the mass shooting in a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wis., a sea of reporters have asked many Sikh leaders and activists to quantify how many Sikhs had been targeted in hate crimes and murders since Sept. 11, 2001. Although I have helped chronicle hate crimes against the Sikh American community for more than a decade, I could… Continue Reading

Published on Common Ground News Service.

Oak Creek, Wisconsin – On Friday, I participated in a memorial for the victims of the 4 August shooting in a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. I am a third-generation Sikh American, and as the ceremony drew to a close, I tweeted, “May this not be the last moment the nation watches and mourns with us. May this be the start of… Continue Reading

Published on The Huffington Post.

By Valarie Kaur and Simran Jeet Singh

Why do we wear turbans?”

Nearly every Sikh American who grows up in the U.S. asks their families this question and as two Sikh Americans who maintain our faith, we were no different when we were little. This week, as Americans join in vigils for the six murdered Sikhs in another violent act… Continue Reading