Sikh Americans are working hard to address recent hate crimes against their community. One man, Gurdeep Singh Saggu, embarked on a week-long motorcycle ride to raise awareness, The Los Angeles Times reports.
A report from the FBI released in February found that Sikhs were the second biggest targets for religious bias crimes after Jewish people. The Sikh American community is calling for greater awareness about the discrimination and violence they face.
Saggu, a member of the Sikh Motorcycle Club USA, rode with the club from Stockton, California, to Oak Creek, Wisconsin last summer. According to The Los Angeles Times, the ride was to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Oak Creek massacre.
On August 5, 2012, 40-year-old Wade Michael Page fatally shot six people and wounded four others at a gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship, in Oak Creek. Ten years later Saggu and his fellow motorcyclists rode through states like Arizona to remind people of the harm done to their community.
“Maybe they’ll see it and will want to Google it to read about us and what we’re about,” Saggu told The Los Angeles Times.
The Sikh community has also called for the development of government policies to address bias crimes against Sikhs. In New Jersey, the Sikh Youth Alliance has asked lawmakers to require that Sikhism is taught in state schools. Leaders also met with the Department of Justice in Charlotte, North Carolina to discuss the rise in hate crimes.
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