Watch this 7 minute video of highlights from the vigil. Then share.

More than 10,000 people gathered for a multiracial interfaith vigil to grieve and stand in solidarity with the Sikh community one week after the mass shooting in Indianapolis. The massacre touches the open wound of decades-long racial trauma. We were joined by faith leaders, artists, activists, and Sikh community members. It was a tapestry of testimony, witness, music, poetry, prayer, and song in the Sikh spirit of Chardi Kala. In the wake of so much racial trauma, we are modeling what America could be — a multiracial, multifaith beloved community.

#StopAsianHate #StandWithSikhs #EndRacialViolence

Watch the whole vigil here. Download the transcript of the full vigil here.

3 Ways to Stand with the Sikh Community Now:

  1. WATCH the Solidarity Vigil video. Then share this site!

  2. POST on social media with the hashtag #StandWithSikhs. See below for sample posts and artwork.

  3. LEARN more from the Sikh Coalition.

Why We Came Together

On the evening of April 15th, a gunman targeted the FedEx facility where he had worked and knew was primarily staffed by Sikhs. Four of the eight people killed in the massacre were Sikhs. We honor them all: Matthew R. Alexander, Samaria Blackwell, Amarjeet Kaur Johal, Jaswinder Kaur, Amarjit Kaur Sekhon, Jaswinder Singh, Karli Smith, John Weisert.

The gunman specifically targeted Sikh employees during the rampage, eyewitnesses report. One reports that the gunman “told a white woman running towards him to get out of the way, after having just shot a Sikh man in the face.” For more details, read the Sikh Coalition’s letter to law enforcement in Indianapolis.

The Sikh community is grieving. The massacre has opened the wound of longstanding anti-Sikh and anti-Asian hate in the United States. The shooting occurred just a month after the targeting of Asian American spas in Atlanta which left 8 people dead, including 6 Asian women. It brings back memories of the hate-motivated massacre at the Oak Creek, Wisconsin gurdwara in 2012, the ongoing racial violence since 9/11, and long before.

When our communities experience racial trauma and violence, a powerful way to respond and to provide comfort is to stand together in solidarity. In rising up together, we express our shared grief and moral outrage, and we pledge to call out racial violence in all its forms —in our workplaces, law enforcement, schools, houses of worship, and homes. We pledge to take action to dismantle white supremacy in our institutions and cultures. And when we grow tired, we will remember the faces of those who have been killed and take one another’s hands and continue our labors for safety and justice in their names.

In the wake of the verdict over George Floyd’s murder, and in a week of racial trauma for many Black and brown communities, this online event honored the shared experiences of all our communities. In centering Sikh communities during the vigil, we also held space for many communities of color experiencing ongoing hate violence and state violence. We recommitted ourselves to ending anti-Black racism and the racial violence which has taken the lives of Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo, Ma’Khia Bryant, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and many more over the past year.

Sponsored by the Revolutionary Love Project and Faith in Action in partnership with: the Sikh Coalition, Harness, Tsuru for Solidarity, IKAR, South Asians for America, IMPACT, UNITED SIKHS, Remember727, MPower Change, Racine Coalition for Peace and Justice, Restorative Justice Training Institute, SALDEF, honto88, Asian Law Alliance, Methodist Interfaith Dialogue Project, Occupy Bergen County, Asian American Democratic Club, JACL, Mt Olympus Chapter, Voices For Freedom, Modern Marimba, OPAWL – Building AAPI Feminist Leadership in Ohio, project_SANCTUS, Building Movement Project, OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, APIAVote, AsAmNews, Moving Circles and Not in Our Town Carlisle, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, MakeGoodTogether, SAALT, 18 Million Rising, Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop! Consulting, California Democratic Party Asian Pacific Islander Caucus, Dream Corps, Seeding Change, Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, Raj Academy, AAPIs for Civic Empowerment Education Fund,
Division on South Asian Americans, Asian American Psychological Association, National Sikh Campaign,The Guibord Center, The Welcome Project PA, Friends for a NonViolent World, International Human Rights Commission #IHRC, Thai Americans Against Hate,
Faith in Public Life, National Sikh Organization, Faith in Public Life Action, Solidaire Network, Asian Americans in Media, Avaaz, EduVoice, LLC, Interfaith Initiative of Santa Barbara County, WAVE Educational Fund, Inc., United We Dream, CivicGeorgia, Los Angeles Buddhist Union, Peace and Social Concerns Committee of the Multnomah Friends (Quakers) Meeting in Portland, Oregon,
Armenian-American Action Network, Georgia Muslim Voter Project, Bay Area Book Festival, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus,
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, V-Day/One Billion Rising, National Domestic Workers Alliance, American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley, OCA Asian Pacific Advocates – Greater Seattle,Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard and MIT, Kaur Voices, Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice,
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Justice San Antonio TX, Peace House, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta, Apna Ghar, Inc., Keeping It Sacred,
Indian American Muslim Council, SF Love Dojo, WiseUp TX,
North Carolina Asian Americans Together, South Asian Mental Health Consortium,The Hume Center, They See Blue (Desi Blue), Sardarni Harbans Kaur Chair in Sikh Musicology, Hofstra University, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families,Young Muslims, Survivor Love Letter,
National Stop the Violence Alliance, Inc., Middle Church, Sikh Channel, Anna Julia Cooper Center, Asian American Advocacy Fund,Asian American / Asian Research Institute – CUNY, Desis for Progress, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Apex for Youth,
Guru Nanak Dwara, Sikh Dharma of Phoenix,
Asian American Federation, The TransLatin@ Coalition, Yonsei Memory Project,
Women4Change Indiana, Act To Change, South Asian American Policy and Research Institute (SAAPRI), Chinese for Affirmative Action, The Juggernaut, Muslim Community Network, Colorado Singh Sabha, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), Korean American Community Foundation of San Francisco, Newtown Action Alliance, Shoulder to Shoulder, Indiana Chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF Indiana), Asian Solidarity Collective, Better Futures, Womankind, Raksha, Inc., API Equality-LA, Therapyforbrownwomen, Auburn Seminary, General Assembly, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance Philadelphia Chapter, Civilian Conservation Corps Initiative, inc., SSCF, Ecumenical and Interreligious Officer, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Sunrise, WorkPlace Connections, MeckMIN, ISLAMICITY, Sphere 421, Inc., Interfaith Coalition of Greater Utice, Humans of Interfaith,
Indiaspora, Densho, OCA Greater Cleveland Chapter, Expressive Arts Work, Sikh Dharma of Massachusetts, South Asians for Justice and Equity (SAJE), Isaacendaeshetfoundation, Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, Sikh Youth of Florida, and more to come!

Share the below images and posts on social media to show your solidarity

One year ago today, a gunman opened fire at a FedEx facility in #Indianapolis. Eight people were killed, four were Sikh. We came together in a historic #SolidarityVigil to show the nation beloved community. Today & every day, we #StandWithSikhs. More at SolidarityVigil.com

Tweet this now

One year ago today, a gunman opened fire at a FedEx facility in #Indianapolis. Eight people were killed, four were Sikh. We came together in a historic Solidarity Vigil to show the nation beloved community. Today and every day, we #StandWithSikhs. May we live in the Sikh spirit of #ChardiKala — even in darkness, ever-rising joy.

Go to SolidarityVigil.com:

1. WATCH the 7-minute video on the #SolidarityVigil. Share it.
2. POST with the hashtag #StandWithSikhs or share this post

#StopAsianHate #EndRacialViolence Art: @anandpurarts

Our Calls to Action

We uplift the following asks from Sikh organizations and the Asian American Leaders Table on COVID-19 Racism.

  • We believe it is vital to break the cycle of gun and hate violence targeting communities across our country.
  • We call upon lawmakers and leaders to ensure holistic wrap-around victim assistance services including in-language hate reporting, mental health, comprehensive support, system navigation and advocacy for victims and survivors.
  • We call for violence prevention, crisis intervention and transformative justice programs that are culturally and linguistically accessible and that focus on vulnerable members of our communities including but not limited to working class people, undocumented and immigrant communities, women, LGBTQ communities, people of faith.
  • We call for relief for essential workers and low-wage workers who are confronting the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism.
  • We call on federal and local government agencies to create taskforces with community participation to address the root causes of hate-motivated violence.
  • Beyond these immediate steps, lawmakers and government agencies must invest in our communities with long-term solutions that uplift the lives of everyone. This includes access to a robust social safety net that includes equitable housing, jobs, health care and education while ending policies that lead to the deportation, criminalization, and surveillance of immigrants and communities of color.

Program

Prelude Music

Sikh Kirtan by Raj Academy Conservatoire

Opening remarks

Valarie Kaur — Revolutionary Love Project
Rev. Michael-Ray Mathews — Faith in Action

Land Acknowledgement

Allie Young — Storyteller, writer, Actress, Diné (Navajo) citizen

Performance

“Chardi Kala” by Sonny Singh — Sikh singer, songwriter

Sikh Community Voices

Simran Jeet Singh — Sikh educator, writer, and activist
Komal Kaur Chohan — granddaughter of Amarjeet Kaur Johal, Indianapolis
Pardeep Kaleka — son of Satwant Singh Kaleka, Oak Creek
Rana Sodhi — brother of Balbir Singh Sodhi, Phoenix

Remarks from the White House

Erika Moritsugu — Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior AAPI Liaison

Performances

Sikh Kirtan by Jasvir Kaur Rababan — Sikh singer, musician, educator
Poem by Preeti Kaur — Sikh poet
“Somebody’s Beloved” by MILCK — singer, songwriter

Faith Leaders in Solidarity

Rev. Michael-Ray Mathews — Faith in Action
Imam Khalid Latif — Islamic Center of NYU
Rabbi Sharon Brous — Senior Rabbi of IKAR
Varun Soni — Dean of Religious Life at USC
Rev. Traci Blackmon — United Church of Christ
Rev. William Barber II — Repairers of the Breach

Performances

Tabla performance by Mohkm Singh — Sikh youth musician
Poem by Brynn Saito — Japanese American and Korean American poet

Movement Leaders in Solidarity

Deepa Iyer — Building Movement Project
Mike Ishii — Tsuru for Solidarity
Kameelah Rashad — Muslim Wellness Foundation
Don Ragona — Native American Rights Fund
Judith Browne-Dianis — Advancement Project
Greisa Martinez — United We Dream
Ai-Jen Poo — Domestic Workers Alliance
Satjeet KaurThe Sikh Coalition

Remarks from the International Human Rights Commission

His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Muhammad Shahid Amin Khan — World Chair of IHRC

Closing Remarks and Calls to Action

Valarie Kaur — Revolutionary Love Project

Performances

“Revolutionary Love” by khat knotahaiku — poet and maker + Ani diFranco — singer, songwriter
“We Won’t Sleep” by Ari Afsar — singer, songwriter