{"id":38158,"date":"2016-03-16T12:46:53","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T17:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=38158"},"modified":"2016-03-16T12:46:53","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T17:46:53","slug":"from-divinity-to-discrimination-the-story-of-sikhs-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/from-divinity-to-discrimination-the-story-of-sikhs-in-america\/","title":{"rendered":"From divinity to discrimination: The story of Sikhs in America"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nikita Mandhani<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Tarlochan Singh moved to Chicago in 1980, there weren\u2019t many Sikhs in the city. As the only two boys who wore turbans in school, he and his brother encountered endless questions and mistreatment.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Like Singh, other Sikhs in the U.S. struggle to explain the essence of their religion. According to a 2014 study conducted by the Sikh Coalition<\/a>, more than half of the Sikh children in America are subjected to bullying in school. The numbers are even worse for children who wear turbans.<\/p>\n

[vimeo 159150237\u00a0w=474]<\/p>\n

Tarlochan Singh explains the essence of Sikhi through his life story (Nikita Mandhani\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n

For Davinder Singh, Executive Director of the Sikh Resource Society of Chicago, discrimination is a result of \u201cmistaken identity\u201d but more so that of \u201cignorance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father had come into the country as an engineer,\u201d said Davinder Singh. \u201cHe was given a job at American Airlines and they said you\u2019ll have to remove your turban. He said, ‘I\u2019ll do whatever I need to do but I will not remove my turban.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Davinder Singh asserted that his family and the history of his religion inspired him to \u201cstand tall and stand proud\u201d when people snickered at him.<\/p>\n

Despite the discrimination that the Sikh community endures on a daily basis, Singh says that the Sikhs believe in \u201cchad di kala,\u201d a Punjabi phrase that\u00a0\u00a0translates to \u201cforever in high spirits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sikhs have lived and worked in the United States for more than 150 years, but 60 percent Americans \u201cadmit to knowing nothing\u201d about them, according to a survey by Hart Research Associates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Sikh Resource Society of Chicago <\/a>is located in Palatine. It is a not-for-profit organization that aims to educate people about Sikh culture and its philosophy.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: A Sikh waits for langar, community lunch, at the Palatine Gurudwara with a kid. (Nikita Mandhani\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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