Source: Contra Costa Times

On September 16, 2002 the Contra Costa Times reported that "a year after a Sikh man became the nation's first fatal victim of a post-9/11 hate crime, fellow worshippers of his temple called on Sikhs to turn to politics to give their community more of a voice. 'There are no Sikh (city) councilmen; there are no Sikh congressmen. Nothing,' said Bhajan Singh, a member of the Gurdwara Sahib temple... Since Sodhi's killing, Bay Area and national Sikh organizations have courted attention from public officials and media in an effort to...

Source: The Associated Press

On September 15, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "a memorial vigil was held Saturday night for a Mesa gas station owner shot days after last year's terrorist attacks on the East Coast. The Balbir Singh Sodhi Embrace Diversity Memorial event took place at a Mesa park about a mile from where Sodhi was shot. An estimated 800 people attended the two-hour program, delivered from a large stage that featured a collage in the shape of an American flag with the words "Embrace Diversity." Statements were read from President...

Source: USA Today

On September 12, 2002 USA Today reported that "more than 200 people gathered near a freshly planted Indian rosewood that honors Balbir Singh Sodhi, 52, an Indian immigrant and a Sikh who was shot to death outside his Chevron station in Mesa four days after the terrorist attacks. In the year since those crimes, Mesa and greater Phoenix have faced head-on the fear and distrust of Arabs and Muslims spawned by Sept. 11. Sikhs, who are neither Muslim nor Arab, have sought to educate Americans about who they are, too."

Source: The Arizona Republic

On September 8, 2002, The Arizona Republic reported that "the pain of losing a patriarch hasn't really left the Sodhi family. It's been a year since Sukhwinder Singh Sodhi's father, Balbir, was shot to death while planting flowers outside the family's convenience store near 80th Street and University Drive in Mesa. Sukhwinder, 29, wears a Diamondbacks baseball cap now instead of a turban. His dark beard is close-cropped. He says family life was starting to get better until Balbir's brother, a San Francisco cab driver, was shot...