Dear Family,
Twelve years ago today, on August 5, 2012, a white nationalist opened fire in a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin as families prepared for Sunday services. Seven beloved community members were ultimately killed. It was the deadliest massacre of Sikhs ever on U.S. soil.
We built a learning hub where you can learn the story of Oak Creek, as a blueprint for how to respond to violence with healing, justice, and love:
Go to our learning hub:
RememberOakCreek.org
Here, you will find everything you need to learn the story of Oak Creek, share about it, and take action. You’ll find lesson plans and artwork to help you tell the story to your own community. Not just the terror and trauma, but how the Sikh community stood in courage and humanity.
I had always called victims of hate crimes just that—victims. That all changed for me in Oak Creek. After the shooting, we followed the stories of survivors who became healers, artists, advocates, and warriors. Together, we wondered, grieved, and fought; we raged, listened, and reimagined the future. We fought to change federal policy on hate crimes—and won. It was revolutionary love in action. (You can read this story in full in Ch. 7 of See No Stranger.)
Twelve years later, our wounds are still open, white nationalist violence continues to bleed us, and the world is filled with vitriol, but we are rising in new forms of love and solidarity.
This fall, The Revolutionary Love Bus Tour is traveling across the country, focusing on communities who have survived enormous pain, like Oak Creek. We are joining people on the ground to reclaim sites of trauma and violence as places to practice healing and possibility. And at every stop, we are equipping people with practical tools to integrate Revolutionary Love into their daily lives.
Soon, we will announce the 40+ cities on the bus tour. For now, I get to share with you this: Our first major bus stop will be in Mesa, Arizona on September 15th, at the gas station where Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh father, was killed after 9/11. Together, we will lift up stories that catalyze people to courageous action rooted in love.
Here are three ways you can remember and honor those lives lost in Oak Creek:
1. Visit our learning hub today. Read the story of what happened. Send our educators’ guide to the teachers in your life.
2. Watch our 3 minute video: Remember Oak Creek
3. Take action with us. Share this story on social media. Forward this email to a friend. Let’s spread strength, resilience, and revolutionary love.
In Chardi Kala — even in darkness, ever-rising joy,
Valarie
Watch our 3 min video:
REMEMBER OAK CREEK
Too many Americans don’t remember Oak Creek. But we do. We remember the blood in the prayer hall, and the bullet holes in the langar hall. We remember the lives lost. We also remember the resilience and courage of the elders who rose up in Chardi Kala in the face of trauma and terror. Let’s share the story together. Our video compiles images and footage from the last 12 years, including original footage Valarie & team collected on the ground.
Download and share our video here.
We are excited to bring you the Oak Creek Educator’s Guide. Use this guide to teach the story of Oak Creek. This guide is for all educators — classroom teachers, community leaders, faith leaders, youth workers. Its lessons can help us respond to white supremacist violence that targets Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) today. Together, we can learn how to respond to mass violence with the practices of revolutionary love.
Download our Educator’s Guide to teach the story.
Starting this fall, in the thick of a divisive election season, the Revolutionary Love Bus will travel across the country to build community bonds and equip thousands of people with practical tools to integrate Revolutionary Love into daily life. Help us energize people’s hearts through this immersive experience by donating here today. Your gift makes this work possible and keeps it FREE for everyone!
The Revolutionary Love Project envisions a world where love is a public ethic and shared practice in our lives and politics. We generate stories, tools, and thought leadership to equip people to practice the ethic of love in the fight for social justice.
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