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Harpreet Singh Saini is sworn in before testifying. Photo Credit: AP
“I want to tell the gunman who took her from me: You may have been full of hate, but my mother was full of love,” said Harpreet Singh Saini, who lost his mother in the tragic hate crime killings at a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek Wisconsin on Aug. 5.
The hate crime attack, one of the deadliest in recent U.S. history by a white supremacist gunman, resulted in the death of six Sikh worshippers and the injury of three others, including an Oak Creek police officer.
Singh Saini, 18, testified before...
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We joined Oak Creek, WI for a vigil and funeral after the mass shootings at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. In this short film, we witness the community coming together in the wake of tragedy.
Thousands gather in the center of town to support the Sikh community in the aftermath of the Aug. 5, 2012 hate crime killing at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, a suburb of Milwaukee. Mayor Steve Scaffidi, Police Chief John Edwards, and Amardeep Kaleka, son of the slain temple president, share prayers and hopes for peace and unity. Days later, the community comes together again for a memorial...
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Our hearts and thoughts are with the community of Oak Creek, Wisconsin today, after yesterday's tragic shooting at a Sikh temple that claimed seven lives—including the gunman—and left three wounded.
The Sikh community has been a target of hate since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and often mistaken for Muslim. Yesterday's tragedy reminds us of the two Sikh grandfathers who were shot during their daily stroll in Elk Grove, Calif. in March 2011. We joined the community seven days after the shootings and documented their interfaith vigil, and again, for the community's Sikh...
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The Need for Hate Crime Laws
Motivated by a hateful ideology, perpetrators of hate crime seek to terrorize not just an individual, but a victim's entire community. Without a swift response, these crimes can spiral into increased tension, hostility and violence. However, when combined with positive community action, the enforcement of hate crime laws can send a powerful, countervailing message which reassures victims and shuns perpetrators. The laws do not punish beliefs or speech. They only take effect if a crime was committed. Such laws were upheld as constitutional by the Supreme...
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Tulsa, Okla. mourns three of its residents after a shooting spree on Good Friday that also left two injured.
Early on the morning of April 6, a white pickup with a low-hanging tailpipe drove into a predominately Black neighborhood in North Tulsa, Okla. The drivers stopped pedestrians to ask for directions. Four men and a woman were stopped, and when they turned to walk away, were gunned down.
The victims seem to have been chosen at random. News reports have called the shootings a racially-motivated rampage.
Unlike the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teen in Florida,...
