Family and friends of Kanwaljit Singh, who is recovering at home after being shot twice while driving with his son two weeks ago, have provided an update on his condition: “He doesn’t have any anger towards the person that shot him. He’s just shocked why he chose him,” said Harvinder Chadda, a family friend. Kanwaljit Singh is also reportedly in too much pain to speak and his recovery will take several months. Read more at WFTV. Police are looking for [...]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: Drive-by shooting, Florida, hate crime, Kanwaljit Singh, Port Orange

When the legacy of the second Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Angad (1504-1552), is discussed, the building of institutions and infrastructure for the Sikh community is often mentioned. In particular, he is renowned for developing the Gurmukhi script (the basis of the Sikh scriptures) to make the Guru’s hymns more accessible, for furthering the cause of women’s rights, and for strengthening the institution of langar, the community kitchen started by Guru Nanak (his predecessor) that is open to all and [...]

Categories: Events, Sikhism • Tags: Guru Angad, International Women's Day, Langar, Mata Khivi

The Aerogram has followed up last week’s interview with writer Preeti Kaur (a talented writer from California) with a second installment in which she talks about the back-story of her poems “Letters Home” and “You Bring Out the Punjabi in Me,” the Oak Creek tragedy, and struggles of Sikh Americans: It’s very fashionable amongst Sikh men these days to celebrate their turbans and flaunt their turbans as an accessory representing a resilient attitude (more power to them), to reverse the [...]

Categories: Art, Literature, Profiles • Tags: Preeti Kaur, The Aerogram

Psychologists Mahzarin Banaji of Harvard University and Anthony Greenwald of the University of Washington are authors of the book The Blind Spot, which examines the existence of implicit biases and prejudices that we often carry, of which we are not even aware: “Blindspot” is a metaphor to capture that portion of the mind that houses hidden biases. The authors use it to ask about the extent to which social groups – without our awareness or conscious control – shape our [...]

Categories: Reports/Studies • Tags: Anthony Greenwald, Blindspot, Implicit Association Test, Mahzarin Banaji, Prejudice, stereotypes

In November of last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) closed its investigation into the Oak Creek, Wisconsin mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in which six innocent worshipers were murdered by a white supremacist. The FBI issued a one-page press release stating that there was “no evidence to suggest the attack was part of any ongoing threat to the Sikh community.” At the time, the FBI declined to provide additional information, and the victims’ families expressed [...]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: FBI, FBI Hate Crime Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, hate crimes, Kamaljit Saini, Oak Creek, Paramjit Kaur, Sikh Coalition, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

Kanwaljit Singh, victim of a drive-by shooting ten days ago, reportedly has been released from hospital after being hit with two bullets while driving home with his 13-year-old son in Port Orange, Florida: Singh’s car was shot at six times as the 46-year-old father of two headed west over the Dunlawton Bridge. He was with his 13-year-old son at the time and the pair had just closed a new convenience store that Singh had opened on the beachside, friends said. [...]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: Drive-by shooting, Florida, hate crimes, Kanwaljit Singh, Port Orange

Last Friday, a friend and I were catching up with each other as we often do each week. We are a bit of an odd couple: he is a clean-shaven white man with no hair on his head, and I am a brown man with a turban, long hair, mustache and beard. Despite these differences, we have been good friends for almost eight years. During the course of our conversation, he shared with me one that he had with his [...]

Categories: Art, Reflections, TV/Movies • Tags: American Idol, Gurpreet Singh Sarin

Local business journal The San Francisco Business Times has released its 2013 edition of Top 40 under 40 young professionals in California’s Bay Area. Among the entrepreneurs named in the list are three Sikh Americans including Narinder Singh (co-founder of Appirio and Board Chair of the Sikh Coalition), Gurbaksh Chahal (CEO of RadiumOne and founder of the BeProud Foundation) and Manav Singh Grover (of accounting firm SOAProjects). Read more at The San Francisco Business Times.

Categories: Profiles • Tags: Appirio, BeProud Foundation, California, Gurbaksh Chahal, Manav Singh Grover, Narinder Singh, RadiumOne, San Francisco, San Francisco Business Times, Sikh Coalition, SOAProjects

“In any group of 1,600 delegates, you’re going to have a few crazy people and bigots,” [Harmeet Kaur] Dhillon told KCRA 3. – Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, who this weekend was elected as the Vice Chairman of the California Republican Party, comments after facing bigotry from members of her own party, and even during the California Republican Party convention this weekend. With strong support by membership and leaders, Harmeet Kaur has become the first Sikh and woman to be elected to [...]

Categories: Politics • Tags: California, Harmeet Dhillon, Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, Republican Party