Browsing Tag: Valarie Kaur

A Sikh woman said she was asked to show her breast pump to fellow passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight to prove she wasn’t a terrorist.

Even if you are bleeding - in the birthing room or on the battlefield - the hot winds cannot touch you. Because you are with the holy, and of the holy. You are with God, and of God. You are with love, and of love. And that kind of love saves us all.

So today, as we commemorate Vaisakhi at the Pentagon, let us also celebrate that we are still writing our story. Let our uniform of faith - this long hair, these proud turbans, this silver karra - show that we fight for the equality, freedom, and selfless service at the heart of the American ethic.

The ad thrilled Sikh Americans like me, who have worked for years to dismantle one of the most pernicious prevailing stereotypes in American culture: turban equals terrorist.

When Sikhs began to restore their gurdwara in Oak Creek, “I saw the spirit of chardi kala, everlasting hope and optimism, in the community,” recalls activist Valarie Kaur.

Storytelling is an act of rebellion, art, introspection, and revelation. As a Sikh American who harnesses the power of storytelling for social change, I listen deeply for untold stories and then help tell those stories on film, in print, on stage, and in halls of power.

Storytelling plus advocacy equals social change. According to Valarie Kaur, this is an equation that will reshape the world.