Jaspreet Kaur Kaleka -the daughter in law of the humble and sauve community leader Satwant Singh Kaleka, who was killed in 2012, chronicles April as Sikh Awareness month in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers visited the historic Oak Creek Gurdwara which witnessed the killing of six Sikhs by a neo-Nazi supporter in August 2012 to announce the first-ever state-wide proclamation for the Wisconsin Sikh community.

Announcing the first such proclamation, Governor Tony Evers emphasized that “diversity remains our nation’s greatest strength, but to hear that in the same place where tragedy struck was a powerful moment that I will always remember.”

My father in law was one of the six people killed in the attack and it was a particularly humbling and soul-satisfying event for me.

Proclamations and resolutions are important and easy ways for Sikh communities to engage local political leaders and raise Sikh awareness across both political aisles. In fact, in 2019, more states passed Sikh Awareness & Appreciation Month resolutions than ever before.

The contribution and facilitation of the event by the Sikh Coalition was comprehensive and remarkable and we cannot thank them more.

This year, Wisconsin joined Colorado, Utah, Washington and Connecticut in passing first-time resolutions. These states joined others that have previously issued proclamations like California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Additionally, 33 local proclamations and resolutions were passed, including first-time recognitions in Salt Lake City, UT; Lexington, KY; Olathe, KS; and more.

Many of these successful initiatives were all  supported by the Sikh Coalition, putting Sikh community leaders in direct touch with their elected officials on both sides of the political aisle.

Tweets by Vaisakhi2019

The Sikhs of Wisconsin deeply appreciate the role of the State of Wisconsin which recognized the Sikh community in April and for their ongoing support of community-based organizations like the Sikh Coalition.

Better yet? It is estimated that nearly four million Americans wished Sikhs ‘A Happy Vaisakhi” through social media posts. Life’s a’changing!