A long time and proud resident of Bakersfield, California, Balmeet Singh was assaulted and had his life threatened by an individual invoking racist slurs outside a restaurant two nights ago. In this blog post, he recounts and reflects on the experience. Many thanks to Balmeet for sharing his thoughts about the incident.
Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Bakersfield, Balmeet Singh, California, hate crime, Racism
In a recent episode of healthcare of a family member, we observed a healthcare provider introducing herself to the patient, announcing herself in a loud, pronounced voice. “DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?” She said this very loudly this in a hospital room after our family member just had surgery and was in a vulnerable state. It was not something we appreciated, especially since our family member has lived in the west in upwards of 40 years and was well-versed in English. It […]
Categories: Civil Rights, Reports/Studies • Tags: diversity training, Health care, healthcare, racial bias, Racism, unconscious bias
On Medium, in an address after the mass murder of nine black congregants at the hands of a white supremacist in Charleston, South Carolina, writer John Metta talks about the difficulty in having conversations about race: Despite what the Charleston Massacre makes things look like, people are dying not because individuals are racist, but because individuals are helping support a racist system by wanting to protect their own non-racist self beliefs. People are dying because we are supporting a racist system […]
Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Charleston, hate crimes, John Metta, Ku Klux Klan, mass shooting, Medium, Oak Creek, Racism, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, South Carolina, White supremacy, Wisconsin
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
After a white supremacist murdered six Sikh worshipers last year in at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, the relationship between racist attitudes, gun ownership and/or acts of violence has been topical on this blog. It is for this reason that a recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE drew some attention. The study completed at The University of Manchester and entitled “Racism, Gun Ownership and Gun Control: Biased Attitudes in US Whites May Influence Policy Decisions” suggests […]
Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reports/Studies • Tags: Dermot Lynott, gun control, gun ownership, Kerry O'Brien, Michael Daly, Pew Research Center, PLOS ONE, Racism, Walter Forrest
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — After New York’s Nina Davuluri became the first Indian American to win the title of Miss America, racist tweets surfaced on Internet social media sites on Sunday, catching news outlets across the country by surprise. “Was there a terrorist attack or something?” one dumbfounded news editor asked. “We have a black president and everything so I’m not sure where the hate came from after what’s-her-name won the pageant. If she was Arab or Muslim or something, […]
Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Humor • Tags: Miss America, Miss New York, New York, Nina Davuluri, Racism
Sikh Americans continue to reflect about racial inequity after Saturday’s not-guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial in the murder of Trayvon Martin. Simran Jeet Singh discusses means of racial oppression and the dichotomous way such oppression operates within each of us — as both victim and perpetrator: The reality is that the global society is complicit in structural discrimination, and we have all become actors in that process. Sure in some way we are all Trayvon Martin. Each of […]
Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: George Zimmerman, Racial profiling, Racism, Simran Jeet Singh, Trayvon Martin
Activist Sonny Singh writes in The Huffington Post about the racial nuances in the George Zimmerman trial: To really understand racism in the United States, we have to understand power. Racism is not just about attitudes; it is a system of oppression. What this means is that white people receive unearned privileges and advantaged simply because of the color of skin, while people of color are systematically disadvantaged and marginalized. That does not make the experiences of all people of […]
Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: George Zimmerman, Racism, Sonny Singh, Sonny Singh Brooklynwala, Trayvon Martin
A YouTube video posted by a Japanese high school teacher (nod to Karaminder for the link) describes the revelation that his students did not recognize racist attitudes within their own country or society, thinking of it as an “American” problem: I was surprised to find out that almost all of my high school students (about 1000 students) were not aware of the racism and discrimination that goes on in Japan. Racism and discrimination in Japan does exist, however, it is […]
Categories: Civil Rights, Reflections, Reports/Studies • Tags: caste system, Japan, Martin Luther King, Racism, United States
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