We Stood Up
Stories of Solidarity. Strategies for Action.
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July 2, 2026
Welcome back to We Stood Up!
In today’s issue, we’re sharing another story in the spirit of #WeTheCivic: America 250 ([link removed]) .
Twenty-five years after 9/11 sparked a wave of hate crimes and discrimination against Sikhs in America, the Sikh Coalition's executive director reflects on what the community built from that pain—and why the next 25 years are about expecting rights, not just requesting them.
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Resilient, Not Shaken: 25 Years Since 9/11 and the Path Forward for the US-based Sikh Community
By Harman Singh
Twenty-five years ago, the smoke rising from the Twin Towers signaled a seismic shift in the American consciousness. For the Sikh community, the tragedy had a dual nature. First, we grieved as Americans for our fallen neighbors and the attack on the country we loved. Then, we steeled ourselves—knowing that we would be forced to defend our very right to exist against a tidal wave of hate, profiling, and violence.
The post-9/11 era was undoubtedly a formative event that shook the sense of how Sikhs viewed ourselves within the American fabric. Our very visibility—including articles of faith like turbans and uncut hair, but also brown skin, accents, and other aspects of our intersectional identities—was weaponized against us by those who chose ignorance over pluralism. Out of that crisis, the Sikh Coalition and many other organizations were born, joining a burgeoning ecosystem of institutions dedicated to ensuring that no Sikh should have to choose between their faith and their safety.
However, as we reflect on this quarter-century milestone, we must be clear about one thing: While 9/11 shook our sense of place, it never shook who we are. The resilience we continue to see from Sikhs today is not a new phenomenon, but the continuation of a legacy that has defined our people for centuries. In the past two years alone, our community has marked profound milestones that anchor our resolve.
First, we recently observed the 350th Shaheedi Purab (martyrdom anniversary) of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, who laid down his life to protect the religious freedom of those of faiths other than his own. In 1675, the Guru courted arrest by Emperor Aurangzeb of the Mughal Empire to directly challenge the ruler’s campaign to pressure Kashmiri Hindu Pandits into religious conversion. Guru Tegh Bahadur and three of his companions were brutally executed for refusing to turn away from their own faith, marking a critical historical moment in defense of the religious freedom of others that inspires Sikhs around the world to this day.
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** Must-Read Articles
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The Monument and the Mirage
by Midy Aponte-Vargas
“In 2026, as this country prepares to mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, I find myself reflecting on monuments of a different kind—ones built with promise and then quietly abandoned.”
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We Were Never Waiting, but this Moment Calls for All of Us
by Dillon St. Bernard
“The conversation has spent years diagnosing youth disengagement as a cultural problem, a motivation problem, and an attention span problem. It is none of those things. It is a structural problem.”
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Beyond What Is: Reimagining the American Project
by Kelly Burton
“A more perfect union is not merely about preserving a political container or maintaining national continuity. It is an aspiration about how human beings choose to live together.”
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It’s Giving Joy: How Drag Is Joining the Climate Movement
by Jenae Barnes, The 19th
“Under a single spotlight, a tall figure in a hooded robe strutted onto the stage, their back to the audience. After a suspenseful beat, three words in large bolded lettering lit up the screen behind them: “NATURE IS GAY.”
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Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Gunfire (Commentary)
by Jaclyn Corin
“The next chapter of American history does not have to be written in gunfire. But it won’t write itself.”
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We Stood Up spotlights the first-person stories from workers, builders, activists, and organizers sharing moments from their work and world, offering inspirational narratives and strategic insights that reinforce community solidarity we need to keep pushing toward a just and equitable future. Do you have a story to tell? Share it with us here ([link removed]) !
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