MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Young Sikh Americans still struggle with discrimination a generation after Sept. 11 unleashed bias against them and their older relatives, ranging from school bullying to racial profiling to hate crimes. The attacks often make it hard fhaior them to embrace the Sikh concept of eternal optimism. The prime targets have been male Sikhs, who typically wear beards and turbans to demonstrate their faith. One Sikh entrepreneur was shot dead at his Arizona gas station just four days after 9/11 by a man who declared he was going to avenge the attacks. Younger Sikhs say hate crimes against their community should be better tracked.
Ross D. Franklin/AP
FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2016 file photo, Rana Singh Sodhi, kneels near his service station in Mesa, Ariz., next to a memorial for his brother, Balbir Singh Sodhi, who was murdered in the days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Sodhi, a Sikh American was killed at his Arizona gas station four days following the Sept. 11 attacks by a man who announced he was "going to go out and shoot some towel-heads" and mistook him for an Arab Muslim. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
Posted
and last updated
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
