Monday, March 25, 2013
From a request to have crimes against Sikhs recognized as hate crimes, to families looking for the full report on what happened in the temple on Aug. 5, there are many groups still waiting for information and answers.
Crimes against Sikhs — like the shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin — are not tracked as hate crimes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the Sikh Coalition. More than two dozen senators have sent a letter to the Jusice Department and FBI asking it to change that practice, and include crimes against Sikhs, Arab- and Hindu-Americans in its hate crime tracking records. Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin was among the 26 Senators who signed the letter. The FBI is expected to make a decision about this in June. Membership in radical right-wing groups is at an all-time high, according to Salon.com political reporter Alex Seitz-Wald, who wrote about the issue this month. He said there is a fear that membership and activity in …
Monday, January 7, 2013
A loaded 9mm handgun was found in the temple parking lot Sunday morning. Police believe it belongs to one of two suspects in an armed robbery in South Milwaukee.
Police believe a loaded handgun found Sunday morning in the Sikh temple parking lot is connected to a robbery in South Milwaukee. A 34-year-old temple member noticed the gun on the pavement about 9:45 a.m. Sunday, according to a police report. She turned it over to the temple security guard, who flagged down an Oak Creek police officer. The gun is likely connected to an incident that happened near the temple the previous night, according to police. South Milwaukee police investigating an armed robbery in their city Saturday night pulled over a vehicle across the street from the temple, 7512 S. Howell Ave. Two men fled the traffic stop. After a foot pursuit and search by Oak Creek and South Milwaukee police officers, they were found and …
A BBC reporter traveled to Oak Creek and learned how the Sikh community is coping since the Aug. 5 mass shooting.
A BBC reporter traveled to Oak Creek to find out how the community and the Sikh temple have recovered following the Aug. 5 mass shooting that left six dead and four wounded. The result is a 28-minute story posted on the website Saturday that shows how families of victims used their faith to help them come to terms, but also how many younger, progressive Sikhs are questioning some aspects of their faith. See the BBC story here.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
“One Community, One World: Understanding the Sikh Community” was held Wednesday in Oak Creek and Thursday in Racine.
"May peace pass from my hand to yours." That is the motto of Peace Learning Circle, which in conjunction with Racine Community Acupuncture presented a community education program titled "ONE Community, ONE World: Understanding the Sikh Community" Wednesday in Oak Creek and Thursday in Racine. In the aftermath of the Aug. 5 Oak Creek Sikh temple shooting that took the lives of six temple members, three women—Peace Learning Circle's Sue Hollow, Racine Community Acupuncture Owner Christie Kern and Kern's client Christine Donalies—took it upon themselves to put that motto into action. Kern was incredibly disheartened following the shooting. That day's events brought back memories of her time in Trinidad in 1990, when a coup claimed the lives …
Monday, December 17, 2012
Family members of those killed in the Aug. 5 attack at the Oak Creek Sikh temple joined New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plea for government leaders to come up with a plan to combat gun violence.
The sons of slain Oak Creek Sikh temple president Satawant Singh Kaleka joined New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's call for government action on combating gun violence. Pardeep and Amardeep Kaleka were among 34 people affected by gun violence who attended a press conference Monday in New York City in which Bloomberg pressed Congress and President Barack Obama for a plan to stop gun violence. The press conference was three days after a horrifying attack at a Connecticut elementary school that killed 26 people, including 20 children. "Words alone cannot heal our nation — only action can do that," Bloomberg said. "Gun violence is a national epidemic and a national tragedy that demands more than words. "We are the only industrialized country …
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Those gathered for a candlelight vigil Sunday night at the Sikh temple expressed frustration at more violence and resolve to make things better.
The city of Oak Creek and the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin are, unfortunately, no strangers to mass shootings and the devastation that follows. Four months after a white supremacist killed six temple members, Oak Creek residents and the Sikh community gathered Sunday night at the temple for a vigil remembering the 26 people murdered Friday in Newtown, CT. The event was just two months after a vigil was held for three people shot and killed at the Azana Spa in Brookfield. Many who attended expressed frustration that gun violence continues to cause havoc and take the lives of innocent people. But the vigil also brought out resolve to prevent more tragedies from happening. "We have to work harder to make the world better," said Kanwardeep Singh …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
A vigil will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday at the temple on Howell Avenue, where a mass shooting took place just four months ago.
The Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, 7512 S. Howell Ave., will host a candlelight vigil at 6 p.m. Sunday to remember the lives lost in Friday's school shooting in Newtown, Ct. Twenty-six people, including 20 children, died Friday after a 20-year-old man forcibly entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and began firing. The Oak Creek Sikh temple was the site of a mass shooting just four months ago. Temple members also held a vigil after the shooting at Azana Spa in Brookfield. Follow Newtown Patch for the latest on the Connecticut school shootings.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
The Sikh community and other faith-based groups raised questions about issues ranging from gun control to immigration laws.
An Obama administration official was in Oak Creek Monday for a series of meetings with Sikh community leaders, other faith-based groups, students and more, according to a Journal Sentinel report. Thomas Perez, U.S. assistant attorney for civil rights, and other federal officials heard concerns and questions about a variety of issues, including gun control, racial disparities in incarceration rates, hate crimes and immigration laws, according to the report. The meetings came a little less than four months after white supremacist Wade Michael Page entered the Oak Creek Sikh temple and killed six members and wounded four others.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The Sikh Temple shootings weighed heavy on Christie Kern's mind, so much so that she is partnering with members of the temple to hold a community event for people to learn about Sikh culture.
When the shootings at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin happened in August, the tragedy weighed heavy on Christie Kern's mind. The Mount Pleasant resident and owner of Racine Community Acupuncture lived in Trinidad in 1990, when a coup claimed the lives on 50 people. Like everyone in the United States, she was horrified by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But when Prakash Singh, Sita Singh, Ranjit Singh, Satwant Singh Kaleka, Paramjit Kaur and Suveg Singh were shot to death by white supremacist Wade Michael Page Aug. 5, it felt closer and more personal. Like many, Kern grappled with understanding how people could come to hate others so much. She felt powerless to do anything to help. But that has changed. Kern and a client of hers, …
Sunday, November 4, 2012
A 32-year-old Maryland man who was detained outside the Oak Creek Sikh temple was released following a police investigation.
A 32-year-old Maryland man who police detained outside the Oak Creek Sikh temple was sent on his way after a police investigation. The man was found with ammunition in his vehicle, "strange" writings about the Aurora, Colorado mass shooting and duct tape and a large amount of zip ties in his backpack, according to an Oak Creek police report. Police Chief John Edwards told Patch's media partners at Fox 6 that authorities determined he wasn't a threat, just "someone who didn't use good judgment." Edwards also said the temple has been helped by a security plan put in place following the shootings Aug. 5, when a white supremacist killed six temple members and wounded four others.
Gursant Singh
9:34 am on Saturday, April 6, 2013
Your article shows without a doubt that Sikhs in the US need to train for self defense with handguns & assault rifles. If the FBI & law enforcement are not taking these white supremacy hate groups which show high rates of violence seriously, then Sikhs need to train in self defense with effective firearms to stop these hate attacks on Sikh persons and Gurdwaras. Gursant Singh Khalsa tells his … more ›