The first victim of a hate crime in the US post 9/11 was not a Muslim, but instead a Sikh man, Balbir Singh Sodi. It was the religion of Islam that was misrepresented in the attacks, yet in the days, months and years that followed, the Sikh community also suffered many attacks just for their appearance. Those unwilling to separate real Muslims from the animals who attacked this country were also unwilling to separate Sikhs from Muslims.

Mr. Sodhi loved this country, and was on the phone with his brother instructing him to buy American flags for him to put out in front of his gas station the day he was murdered. He hoped the flags would show people how much he loved this country, and how he also mourned for those lost that tragic day.

While I knew of Mr Sodhi’s murder, and some of the plight of the American Sikh community over the last two decades, it was reading Valerie Kaur’s memoir “See No Stranger” that really opened my eyes to the full scope of the struggle Sikhs face in this country. It also helped me process my own journey in America post 9/11. It is a heart wrenchingly powerful book that catalogues her journey around this country bringing light to the victims of these hate crimes, as well as her own incredible story as a documentarian, author, victim, civil rights lawyer, granddaughter, daughter, wife and mother. While I highly recommend her book to anyone and everyone, at the very least, please watch her Ted Talk on Revolutionary Love.

In Punjabi Society, Sikhs are known as protectors of the weak, wheyther the weak are Sikh or not. Men like Mr Sodhi literally took bullets for American Muslims, and women like Mrs Kaur have fought for multiple decades now to liberate victims of xenophobia and hate in this country. They have truly embodied the term, “protector.”

Thank you. 

Balbir Singh Sodhi
7/6/49 - 9/15/01