The Washington State Senate honored Washington’s Sikh communities Wednesday with a resolution sponsored by Sen. Mona Das (D-Kent).
In the United States, about 500,000 people identify as Sikh — and about 20,000 of those people live in the greater Seattle area. In a speech on the Senate floor, Das said she sponsored the resolution to promote “diversity, inclusion, and kindness in Washington state.”
“Despite a long history of hate, fear, and intolerance toward them, Sikhs have played a large and unforgettable role in shaping our state and our country,” Das said. “Our Sikh neighbors haven’t always been treated fairly in Washington state. In fact, 300 Sikhs were run out of Bellingham in 1907.”
As recently as 2017, a Sikh man was shot in his Kent driveway and told to go back to his own country.
The resolution also honored notable Sikhs in Washington state — including Kent Councilmember Satwinder Kaur and resolution cosponsor Sen. Manka Dhingra. Whatcom County Councilman Satpal Sidhu also attended the event.
“Sikh-Americans have made significant contributions to every aspect of American life, and I am proud that the Senate took the time to honor our community this week,” said Sen. Manka Dhingra. “There is more that brings us together than tears us apart — we must continue to uplift the voices of all the diverse populations in our state.”
“I would ask members of the Senate and all Washingtonians to use this resolution as a reminder to stop and reflect on the ways we can promote inclusion, diversity, and kindness in our modern society — for Sikhs, certainly, but also for others,” Das said.
Resolution Sponsors: Das, Randall, Zeiger, Short, Billig, Hasegawa, Hobbs, Braun, Mullet, Nguyen, Dhingra, Pedersen, Wilson, C., Fortunato, Conway, Keiser, Brown, Wellman, Wagoner, Lovelett
The above is a press release from the office of Senator Mona Das (D-Kent, 47th LD). The Auburn Examiner has not independently verified its contents save to pull the resolution’s sponsors.