hate crime | | Page 5

Captured on film: Post-9/11 experiences of American Sikhs

May 19, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

It was a serendipitous post on The Sikh Coalition’s Facebook page that linked to the independent film A Dream in Doubt (2007), which follows Rana Singh Sodhi after his brother, Balbir, was killed in a post-9/11 hate crime in Arizona. The documentary aired on PBS’s Independent Lens : When his brother is murdered, Rana Singh Sodhi finds himself coping with national tragedy and murder, finding support in community and attempting to reclaim the American dream.

Categories: Hate Crimes, TV/Movies • Tags: 9/11, 9/11 Memorial, A Dream in Doubt, American Made, Balbir Singh Sodhi, Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath, hate crime, Independent Lens, Jan Brewer, Rana Singh Sodhi, Sharat Raju, Sikh Coalition, Valarie Kaur

Leave a comment

“I apologized”: Arizona lawmaker backs down on removal of slain Sikh’s name from 9/11 memorial

April 27, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On September 15, 2001, Balbir Singh Sodhi was shot and killed outside of his gas station in Mesa, Arizona. His murder was one of the first post-9/11 hate crimes in the United States. His murderer, Frank Roque (who mistook Balbir Singh as an Arab), is currently serving a life sentence for the crime. Balbir Singh’s death was a turning point for Sikhs in this country, who since that day have undertaken significant efforts to bring about more Sikh awareness in the United […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: 9/11, Arizona, Balbir Singh Sodhi, Frank Roque, hate crime, Jan Brewer, John Kavanagh, memorial, Mesa, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund

Leave a comment

Recap: Funeral service for Gurmej Atwal

April 25, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The funeral service for Gurmej Atwal, the second victim of the Elk Grove, California shootings, took place last Saturday and was covered by local media. The Elk Grove Patch reports: About 200 members of the Sikh and Sacramento community gathered Saturday afternoon at the Sacramento Memorial Lawn to mourn the death of Gurmej Atwal, one of two victims of the recent Sikh shooting. Preceding Atwal’s cremation was a two-and-a-half-hour long memorial service, where family members, friends, members of the Sikh community […]

Categories: Events, News Bits • Tags: California, Elk Grove, funeral, Gurmej Atwal, hate crime, Sacramento, Surinder Singh

Memorial service for Gurmej Atwal this Saturday

April 19, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A memorial service for Gurmej Atwal is to take place this Saturday at the Sacramento Memorial Lawn in Sacramento, California: “Atwal left behind his children and grandchildren and his friends. They’ve all been very brave,” [Amar] Shergill said. “There’s no way to rationalize or explain why they’re victims of such a horrible event.” Gurmej Atwal was the second victim of the shootings in Elk Grove, California last month. His friend, Surinder Singh, was killed at the scene. The investigation is now for a […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: California, Elk Grove, Gurmej Atwal, hate crime, memorial service, Sacramento, Surinder Singh

Leave a comment

Second victim in Elk Grove, CA shooting dies

April 15, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that Gurmej Atwal, the surviving victim in the Elk Grove, CA shooting in March, died today. Surinder Singh passed away at the scene six weeks ago. There is no news on the investigation. It is a devastating and tragic loss for his family.

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: California, Elk Grove, Gurmej Atwal, hate crime, Surinder Singh

Why Diane Fisher is attending American Sikh Day

April 12, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

We cannot remain silent because an attack on one minority is an attack on all. That exhortation goes for Sikhs as well as every other group in our society. We must remember this value as a cornerstone of American principles. — Diane Fisher, of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley, explains why she is attending American Sikh Day tomorrow. Read her full opinion piece in the Mercury News.

Categories: Civil Rights, Events, Hate Crimes, Interfaith • Tags: American Sikh Day, California, Capitol, Diane Fisher, Elk Grove, hate crime, Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley, Sacramento

Leave a comment

Attacker of Sacramento Sikh cabbie changes his mind

April 1, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The sentencing process for the attackers of Sikh taxi driver Harbhajan Singh in West Sacramento, CA, still needs to come to a resolution after one of the attackers withdrew his guilty plea today: WOODLAND, CA – A man set to be sentenced to 13 years in prison for a hate crime attack on a taxi driver in West Sacramento last Nov. 28, withdrew his guilty plea in court Friday morning. Pedro Ramirez had admitted in a plea agreement with the Yolo County […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: Harbhajan Singh, hate crime, Johnny Morales, Pedro Antonio Ramirez, Sacramento, taxicab, United States, West Sacramento

Celebrate “American Sikh Day” in Sacramento, CA: April 13, 2011

April 1, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Sikhs in the Sacramento, California area will be gathering on the west steps of the State Capitol building (click here for a map) on Wednesday April 13, 2011 from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM to commemorate the first “American Sikh Day“: American Sikh Day A Celebration of this Nation and Religious Freedom Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 11:00AM – 1:30PM West Steps of the State Capitol (10th & Capitol Streets) Come help us celebrate: ✓ Our Sikh faith ✓ Our history in California […]

Categories: Events • Tags: American Sikh Day, Baisakhi, California, Capitol, Darrell Steinberg, Elk Grove, Gurmej Atwal, hate crime, Sacramento, Sikh, Surinder Singh, Vaisakhi

The American “Muslim” hearings: radicalization takes different forms

March 30, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“Regrettably, while nearly a decade has passed since 9/11, we continue to see a steady stream of violence and discrimination targeting Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South-Asian communities. In each city and town where I have met with leaders of these communities, I have been struck by the sense of fear that pervades their lives – fear of violence, of bigotry and hate. The headwind of intolerance manifests itself in many different ways.” — an excerpt of Assistant Attorney General Thomas […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, News Bits, Politics • Tags: civil rights, Dick Durbin, hate crime, Islam, Islamophobia, Muslim, Peter King, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense Fund, Thomas Perez, United States Department of Justice, US Attorney General

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: hate crime

Captured on film: Post-9/11 experiences of American Sikhs

“I apologized”: Arizona lawmaker backs down on removal of slain Sikh’s name from 9/11 memorial

Recap: Funeral service for Gurmej Atwal

Memorial service for Gurmej Atwal this Saturday

Second victim in Elk Grove, CA shooting dies

Why Diane Fisher is attending American Sikh Day

Attacker of Sacramento Sikh cabbie changes his mind

Celebrate “American Sikh Day” in Sacramento, CA: April 13, 2011

The American “Muslim” hearings: radicalization takes different forms