In an act of solidarity, community members are memorializing not only this massacre, but also the victims of the Orlando Pulse mass shooting.
Today marks four years since a gunman tied to White supremacist organizations stormed mass at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and killed six people on August, 5, 2012, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
Photo: Scott Olson/Getty
Today marks the 4th anniversary of the massacre at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, a city outside of Milwaukee. On August 5, 2012, a man with ties to White supremacist organizations barged into the Sikh house of worship and killed six people in an act of gun and hate violence. In the aftermath, the community pulled together to provide a range of rapid response services that were culturally, linguistically and faith appropriate.
The tragedy reminded Americans that Sikh, Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities continued to be targets of the past 9/11 backlash, even a decade after 9/11, and that White supremacist groups are on the rise. At the national level, Senator Richard Durbin held a hearing on hate violence, and advocates successfully pressed the FBI to begin tracking crimes against Arabs, Hindus and Sikhs (in the past, they had been aggregated under Asian or Muslim categories).
Local community members, led by youth, are marking the anniversary this year with a 6K race/walk and services in Oak Creek. They will also be recognizing the victims of the Orlando massacre earlier this summer.