Balbir Singh Sodhi, early victim of 9/11 hate, honored on 20th anniversary of his death
‘Balbir Uncle’s story could have ended here,’ said activist Valarie Kaur, ‘but this was not the end of his story. His death was a beginning because of how he lived.’
On 9/15/2021, members of Sodhi’s family, friends as well as nationally known elected leaders and people of different faiths gathered at the Chevron station in Mesa, Arizona, to memorialize Sodhi. Catholic Sister Simone Campbell revered Sodhi as a saint and a holy man “for his generosity in caring for neighbors.” Read the article from Religion News Service here.
The memorial for Balbir Singh Sodhi on the 20th anniversary of his murder, Sept. 15, 2021.
Balbir Singh Sodhi was working at his Arizona gas station in 2001, four days after Sept. 11, when he became one of the first victims of skewed attempts at retribution for the attacks. A Sikh, Sodhi was mistaken for an Arab Muslim by a man who had declared he was “going to go out and shoot some towel-heads.”
Sikhs have been commonly mistaken for Muslims because of their turbans and often experience anti-Muslim discrimination.
On Wednesday (Sept. 15), members of Sodhi’s family, friends as well as nationally known elected leaders and people of different faiths gathered at the Chevron station in Mesa to memorialize Sodhi.
Catholic Sister Simone Campbell revered Sodhi as a saint and a holy man “for his generosity in caring for neighbors.”
Imam Khalid Latif, who was a New York University student when 9/11 happened, expressed his gratitude for the Sikh community because, amid the rise in hate and racism, “I’ve never heard once any of my Sikh brothers and sisters (say) that we will separate ourselves from people who are Muslim.”
The Rev. Larry Fultz, of the Arizona Interfaith Movement said Sodhi’s death ignited a “better understanding of the Sikh faith” and helped him recognize that “when one faith is attacked, all of our faiths are at risk.”
U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton of Phoenix, Mesa Mayor John Giles and Erika Moritsugu, President Joe Biden’s liaison to Asian Americans, were also present to honor Balbir Singh Sodhi. The event was hosted by the Sodhi family and the Sikh Coalition, in association with the Global Sikh Alliance.
Sodhi’s younger brother, Rana Singh Sodhi, who has acted as a family spokesperson and helps educate others about the Sikh faith and identity, told Religion News Service that the gathering reflected “the basic teaching from Sikhism.”
“All the different people, different genders, color, creed — we all are a human first,” he said. “We respect and understand and love each other.”