Source: Merced Sun-Star

http://www.mercedsun-star.com/news/277937499695867.shtml

On October 25, 2002 Merced Sun-Star reported that "between 600 and 650 Foster Farms employees gathered at a Sikh temple... over the weekend to sign a petition in favor of breaking ties with the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 1288, said Chief Bill Eldridge of the Livingston Police Department."

Source: Newsday

On October 24, 2002 Newsday reported that "an East Meadow man who is a member of the Sikh religion has filed a $ 60-million civil rights suit charging that he was twice barred from boarding flights at Long Island MacArthur Airport last year because his religion forbade his removing his turban for security checks. Tejindar Singh Kahlon, 65, filed the suit yesterday in U.S. District Court in Central Islip against the Town of Islip, which operates the airport; Southwest Airlines; and security firm International Total Services."

Source: Newsday

On October 21, 2002 Newsday reported on the "thousands of newcomers who live or worship in this spectacularly polyglot stretch of Flushing, which boasts Hindu and Buddhist temples, mosques, synagogues, Sikh gurdwaras as well as historic Catholic and Protestant churches dating, in a few cases, to the 17th century. In many ways, Bowne Street is a microcosm of the changing spiritual landscape of New York, which is being reordered by the powerful engines of immigration and globalization. If not quite a new Mecca or a Jerusalem, the New...

Source: Appeal-Democrat

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/102102/102102Turning.shtml

On October 21, 2002 Appeal-Democrat reported that "Yuba-Sutter [CA] Sikhs want to turn ignorance into understanding and hope a new film will help explain to America who they are and why they live the way they do. The film, "Mistaken Identity: Sikhs in America," was partly filmed in Yuba City and received help from local Sikhs. It features interviews with various Sikhs across the...

Source: The Village Voice

On October 15, 2002 The Village Voice reported that "Flushing is no longer 'the valley of ashes' that Fitzgerald described. The former cultural void brims with residents from over 30 countries. An afternoon's stroll will expose you to cultures of Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America. Heralded as the birthplace of religious freedom, Flushing teems with Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, and Christians."

Source: Mercury News

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/4273167.htm

On October 12, 2002 Mercury News reported that "the Fremont [CA] Sikh temple, one of the largest in the country, has been a hotbed of litigious activity, with rival factions suing one another over who should head the congregation. A judge settled one legal dispute between two camps over temple elections in July. But last month, a third faction filed a lawsuit demanding that anyone should be able to...

Source: The Boston Globe

On October 9, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "the "Vigil Against Hate," chiefly sponsored by the Massachusetts Interfaith Alliance, was scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. today in the State House's Great Hall, but was moved [to the Unitarian Universalist headquarters on Beacon Street] after officials said they would not allow Sikhs wearing sheathed kirpans into the building. A kirpan is a miniature religious sword, its blade about 4 inches in length, and is part of the ceremonial attire worn by Sikhs. Realizing the...

Source: The New York Times

On October 1, 2002 The New York Times reported that "in a classroom session opened up briefly for visiting reporters, Rebecca Berry, a temporary instructor brought in by Lockheed Martin, a contractor, instructed screeners on the meaning of the terms bias, prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination. She told them that the Sikh religion is one of the world's largest, and that adherents wear turbans, and that removing them in public is a form of humiliation. She also told them that Sikhs carry ceremonial knives called kirpans...

Source: The Boston Herald

On September 25, 2002 The Boston Herald reported that "the number of hate crimes in Massachusetts rose dramatically in the year of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, largely as a result of a backlash against Muslims and Arabs, according to a new state report. A total of 576 incidents were reported in 2001, up 24 percent from the 463 reported in 2000, according to the Governor's Task Force on Hate Crimes. Among them were 133 crimes motivated by religious bias, a 43 percent increase over the previous year's...

Source: San Mateo County Times

On September 19, 2002 the San Mateo County Times reported that "just two days after last year's attacks, Kulwant Singh was out buying an American flag to put outside his North Central [CA] home when someone threw a Molotov cocktail inside the house through a closed window, hitting his 3-year-old son, Mantej, on the head. Although the boy walked away with minor injuries, Singh said his family has not forgotten the egregious crime. Singh declined to follow up on his own case with the FBI, saying he didn't feel punishing someone...

Source: The Arizona Republic

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/local/9_16_02mesa.html

On September 16, 2002, The Arizona Republic reported that "the family of Balbir Singh Sodhi held a memorial program Saturday to honor the slain Sikh and other backlash victims stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks... About 500 attended the Balbir Singh Sodhi Embrace Diversity Memorial Event at Mesa's Red Mountain Park... Since Sodhi's death, 16 other backlash deaths have been...

Source: The Stamford Advocate

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-sikh1sep16.story?coll=stam%2Dnews%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines

On September 16, 2002 The Stamford Advocate reported that "about 200 Sikhs from Fairfield County [CT] gathered to remember victims of terrorism and hate crimes. Across the country, several Sikhs have been attacked or killed in the past year... Mayor Alex Knopp thanked the Sikh community...

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...