What’s in a date? Eight years ago to the day, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh-American, was the first victim of a hate crime in the aftermath of September 11th. In Mesa, Arizona, Sodhi was shot and killed because of his appearance, perceived by a deranged man as part of the “enemy.”

I owe the reminder to Valarie Kaur, maker of the documentary Divided We Fall, which chronicles violence against the Sikh community in the United States. This date–and the documentary–are cogent reminders of the difficulties experienced by people of various backgrounds after September 11th. It also reminds us that the hysterical wave of racism that overtook this country after that date did not affect only Arabs and Muslims, but many other communities who were perceived as such or otherwise associated with the attacks.

As a sobering reminder of how important it is to chronicle and condemn these acts of racism within the United States, earlier this week a young Muslim high school student was falsely accused of refusing to stand during the pledge of allegiance (as if this were illegal) and then bullied by another student–one who, disturbingly enough, intends to join the military–who said to her in a hallway, “Take that thing off your head and act like you’re proud to be an American.”

Recording this date in history as an anniversary to be acknowledged is a powerful commitment to protecting the civil rights and liberties of people in America who daily encounter such hostile and violent racist acts.

Related posts:

1. Remembering Iraq (Dec 4 – 11)
2. Remembering Alex Odeh
3. Remembering the Great Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish
4. Remembering Qana
5. Remembering Iraq: Provincial elections…