“I felt like I was an American but there were times when it was a bit challenging. I used to get made fun of because I looked different wearing a patka. I remember there were times when I would get harassed by my fellow students. It was difficult, but nothing that I couldn’t overcome.”
- Savraj Singh

“When we were looking for a house, we were driving in Kirkland. I remember we were driving past Evergreen Hospital and a pick-up truck passed us and the guy leaned out of the window and said go back to your country. I remember I felt like I’ve just got kicked in my stomach.”
- Simrit Sekhon

“9/11… it was my second day at my new school so that was intense. I didn’t know how people would react…. I felt as though people were going just by appearances and a lot of discrimination was going to happen. I just had this internal gut feeling that it was going to be extra tough for people who looked different.”
- Sujot Kaur

Mis-identity

Since their first arrival in North America, Sikhs have struggled against prejudice and mis-identification. For most of the first half of the century, all people of South Asian background were called “Hindus” – an illogical label since “Hindu” was used to avoid confusion with Native Americans labeled “Indians” whom the first European explorers originally believed to be people from India. Most people made little effort to distinguish that the Sikhs they met practiced a distinct religion from other South Asians.

In a post-September 11th world, mis-identification of Sikhs has continued, with tragic consequences. Following 9/11, television sets and newspapers were flooded with pictures of Osama bin Laden wearing a turban. As a result, there was a rash of attacks against Sikhs in the United States, with many non-Sikhs assuming that anybody who wore a turban was a terrorist – an assumption as flawed as saying that anybody wearing basketball shoes plays professionally for the NBA.

Sher Singh, a Sikh telecommunications engineer from Virginia, endured this mis-identification most publicly, as CNN telecast his wrongful arrest in the days following 9/11. Taking a train from Washington, DC to Boston, Mr. Singh was handcuffed while passengers jeered “Kill him” and a law enforcement officer taunted “How is Osama bin Laden?”

One horrible result of such prejudiced logic was the murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi in Mesa, Arizona four days after the 9/11 attacks. A Chevron gas station owner, Mr. Sodhi was shot to death while landscaping outside his station. Ironically, Mr. Sodhi had generously donated to the Red Cross to help 9/11 victims just a day before his murder. 

Indeed, the Sikh community’s response to 9/11 was one of immediate compassion and care. Sikhs in the Pacific Northwest mobilized alongside fellow Americans to support victims. Gurdwaras organized blood drives for the survivors and gave material support to the Red Cross and other charities, and the Sikh community rallied together in the memory of those who had fallen at candlelight vigils all around the world. In the wake of hate crimes, Sikhs created organizations like the Sikh Coalition to defend their rights and educate the public about their community and faith, speaking at schools and libraries, participating in town hall events, and publishing curriculum and online resources for anyone willing to learn.