A Golden Premiere – Sacramento
Lieutenant Governor CRUZ BUSTAMANTE hosted the formal California premiere of Divided We Fall a few steps away from our state capitol tonight. Beneath the great dome of the Secretary of State building, hundreds of people mingled, holding plates of Indian food, waiting for the doors to open for the premiere. The Lieutenant Governor came to welcome us and express his excitement about the film. (Spot us in the crowd…)
Whereas, I am delighted to honor and commend Ms. Valarie Kaur for her tireless efforts in creating the documentary film of the plight of Sikh Americans post 9/11 living in the United States; and
Whereas, the film Divided We Fall follows Ms. Kaur’s journey as she drove across the country in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, documenting stories of hate violence and discrimination towards Americans; and
Whereas, Divided We Fall is the first feature documentary film to address hate crimes and hate violence in the aftermath of September 11, 2001; and
Whereas, Ms. Kaur has additional works that focus on stories of Sikh Americans, including her thesis, “Targeting the Turban: Sikh Americans in the Aftermath of September 11,” which won the Golden Medal in Humanities and became Ms. Kaur’s first written work on the experience of misrecognition in the aftermath of 9/11; and
Whereas, Ms. Kaur has written extensively about her experience and lectured at more than fifty conferences, film festivals, and community events around the country; now, therefore be it
Resolved, that I, Cruz M. Bustamante, Lieutenant Governor of the State of California, do hereby recognize and applaud the important contributions that Ms. Valarie Kaur has made to our Golden State and the nation in her efforts to educate the public about the Sikh Community.
on diversity and respect in my home state.As the discussion continued, we heard voices from the Japanese American, Native American, Muslim and Sikh American communities, all drawing connections between one another’s struggles. Many people pointed to the ongoing violence – including the recent murder of an Afghan Muslim woman Alia Ansari in Fremont, whom many speculate was targeted for her veil.
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Thank you to Ravi Kahlon, Kiranjit Kaur at the Lieutenant Governor’s office for their incredible hard work. Also to Satinder Singh for his support! (Pictured left to right: Kiranjit, me, Ravi, Sharat, and Satinder).