As if running and completing a marathon was not a major feat worth acknowledging in itself, these runners made it known during the New York City Marathon that they stand against police brutality and injustice. Two Sikh runners decided to take this opportunity to spread awareness about a greater cause – the fight for racial justice.
Simran Jeet Singh and Jasdeep Singh participated in the NYC Marathon last Sunday, sporting T-shirts reflecting Colin Kaepernick's former NFL jersey No. 7. Simran, a professor of religion at Trinity University, and Jasdeep, a physician from New York City, paid homage to Kaepernick's #TakeAKnee protest, which has sparked more peaceful protests and ongoing conversations regarding police brutality and excessive force toward black people and the unfairness against all people of color and marginalized groups in America.
Simran said he and Jasdeep were captivated by the “clarity and poise” that Kaepernick has brought to the issue, so they wanted to honor the movement that the athlete started in 2016.
“I am committed to fighting anti-Black racism because my Sikh faith teaches me to confront any injustice I encounter in this world,” Simran told HuffPost via email. “It is not an option to ignore the deep oppression that our Black sisters and brothers experience in America, and each of us has a responsibility to help ensure that we realize real equity in this country.”
Last Sunday’s race was Simran’s sixth marathon, his fifth New York City marathon. Before, Simran said he often was targeted with racial slurs while running. Last year, he overheard people referring to him as a "dirty Muslim" or "that guy from ISIS" as he raced on. He said the race this year was the first time he'd run the NYC Marathon with no racial comments spewed at him.
Like many minority groups, Sikhs continue to be targets of xenophobia and racism in this country. Due to American unfamiliarity of the religion and oftentimes an unwillingness to learn, the misconception is often that Sikhs are Muslim, thus making them a major target of hate crimes, particularly since the incident on 9/11.
Simran said that he and Jasdeep commonly found themselves discussing social and political issues while training for the race, Jasdeep's first, by the way.
“We talked about how maintaining our Sikh identities in the world’s biggest race was a political statement in and of itself ― but we also talked about how we wanted to do something more explicit and more timely.”
