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"President Obama delivers a traditional Indian greeting before he speaks on Jan. 27 in New Delhi, India. The president, who was guest of honor at India's Republic Day celebrations, wrapped up his visit by talking about the freedom to practice one's religion, the rights of women and the need to provide every child with equal opportunity." (Photo: European Pressphoto Agency. Source: USA Today.).

Obama cites Oak Creek massacre in New Delhi speech, site of 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom

February 12, 2015 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

While he didn’t visit the Sikh faith’s holiest site during his trip to India two weeks ago, President Obama did create a bit of a stir as he openly advocated for religious freedom and peaceful coexistence of faiths in India, citing in his speech the mass murder of Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin in 2012: Obama said no society is immune from man’s darkest impulses, as he raised the 2012 shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin that killed six […]

Categories: 1984, Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: Ami Bera, Barack Obama, hate crimes, India, Narendra Modi, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

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Oregon’s legacy of racial segregation

January 21, 2015 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The northwestern state of Oregon is known for its liberal culture and voting patterns, but this predominantly white state has a significant history in racial segregation and white supremacy. In an article published on Gizmodo by Matt Novak (via Jeremy Adam Smith), we learn of the explicit racist history that was pervasive in Oregon at the time of its establishment as a state and how that legacy would play out to the present day, in an attempt by some quarters to create a […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Astoria, Columbia River, exclusion laws, Gizmodo, Johanna Ogden, Matt Novak, Oregon, Racism, segregation, Sikh diaspora

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US Supreme Court recognizes inmate’s religious right to grow beard

January 20, 2015 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A recent decision by the US Supreme Court about the religious rights of inmates in US prisons may have future implications on the rights of Sikh inmates who wish to maintain their uncut hair or other articles of faith. In its recent decision regarding a Muslim inmate’s challenge to the State of Arkansas Department of Corrections policy requiring inmates to shave their beards, the Supreme Court recognized the realities around security concerns and whether these justified the violations of religious […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Abdul Maalik Muhammad, Arkansas, Arkansas Department of Corrections, Gregory Holt, prison, prisoners, US Supreme Court

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Photo: Reuters | DNA India)

Rajdeep Singh: address human rights during Indian PM’s US visit

September 26, 2014 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to the United States, Rajdeep Singh of the Sikh Coalition provides some perspective on the controversial figure who until recently was even denied a travel visa to enter the country: In 2002, while Modi served as Chief Minister of Gujarat, over a thousand Muslims were massacred in retaliation for the deaths of 59 Hindu pilgrims, who burned to death when a train they were traveling in caught fire. Muslims were […]

Categories: 1984, Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: 2002 Gujarat violence, Narendra Modi, Rajdeep Singh

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Members of the Dashmesh Sikh Gurudwara at the rose planting ceremony, August 5th, 2014 (photo by Lori Way).

Fort Wayne, IN, commemorates Oak Creek shooting with 6 Days of Seva

August 13, 2014 by American Turban Guest Contributor

Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a town located about four hours southeast of Oak Creek, Wisconsin. A small but growing Sikh population there recently commemorated the second anniversary of the mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in which six people were murdered by a white supremacist. Over six days, the community honored each of the victims with a seva (selfless service) project. Lori Way, a regular contributor to this blog and a Sikh Coalition Volunteer Advocate in Fort Wayne, […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Events, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: 6 Days of Seva, Fort Wayne, hate crime, hate crimes, Indiana, Lori Way, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

San Quentin State Prison, California. (Image: San Quentin News.)

Raising Sikh awareness — without and within

January 30, 2014 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Co-blogged with Sundari. The Sikh Coalition, a civil rights organization, was recently asked to present to a group of inmates at San Quentin State Prison in Northern California. Organized by the Asian Prisoner Support Committee, which has a weekly class inside San Quentin State Prison called SQ ROOTS (Restoring Our Original True Selves), the organization was asked to make a presentation about the Sikh community. The class is modeled after Asian American Studies courses, covering topics such as history, culture, […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reflections • Tags: California, San Quentin State Prison, Sikh awareness, Sikh Coalition, Sikh prisoners

“an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

December 9, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Nelson Mandela’s struggle was already decades old by the time I — a young child — first learned of his story when watching the late night news with my father in the early 1980s. By then, the issue of apartheid and the subjugation of the blacks in South Africa was a well-known issue. I recall watching his interview with the BBC recorded in 1961, the black-and-white video of a mysterious man who spoke of a struggle for harmony and equal dignity. It […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Profiles • Tags: Apartheid, Nelson Mandela, South Africa

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Sikh asylum-seekers protest detention in El Paso, TX

December 4, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The website Colorlines provides a report about a protest by 40 asylum-seekers in detention at a facility in El Paso, Texas, operated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Many of these individuals are of Indian nationality with Sikh names, and they have been incarcerated for months (nod to Meeta Kaur for the link): Colorlines has obtained a document smuggled out of the detention facility that lists 32 Indian men who have passed their credible fear interview but remain in detention […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Colorlines, El Paso, political asylum, solitary confinement, Texas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, undocumented immigrants

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Vishavjit Singh, of SikhToons.com, speaks to MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry about being the Sikh Captain America. (Source: MSNBC)

Captain America speaks to MSNBC

December 4, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After his appearance as the Sikh Captain America on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell last month, cartoonist Vishavjit Singh (of sikhtoons.com) speaks to MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry about donning the superhero’s costume in New York. I had the pleasure of meeting Vishavjit Singh in person at the SikhLens Film Festival in Southern California a couple of weeks ago. He is a very insightful and well-spoken representative for our community. See Vishavjit Singh’s full interview on MSNBC here.

Categories: Civil Rights, Profiles, TV/Movies • Tags: Captain America, Melissa Harris-Perry, MSNBC, Sikhtoons, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, Vishavjit Singh

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: Civil Rights

Obama cites Oak Creek massacre in New Delhi speech, site of 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom

Oregon’s legacy of racial segregation

US Supreme Court recognizes inmate’s religious right to grow beard

Rajdeep Singh: address human rights during Indian PM’s US visit

Fort Wayne, IN, commemorates Oak Creek shooting with 6 Days of Seva

Raising Sikh awareness — without and within

“an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Sikh asylum-seekers protest detention in El Paso, TX

Captain America speaks to MSNBC