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tv   United Shades of America  CNN  May 6, 2018 7:00pm-8:00pm PDT

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♪ this is an american farm. this is as american as billionaires paying no taxes, japanese pickup trucks with american flags and women in joeg aire pants who never do owing aire. this is owned by the same american family four generations. let's meet the american farmer who owns this american farm. what you're expecting, huh? that's right. this week on united shades of america we are seeking out some sikhs, learning about the sikh
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religion. >> it's pronounced sikh. >> i got a lot to learn. where do you go to learn, yuma city, california, the sik capital of the united states. i'm hoping to find out more about one of the most misunderstood religions in america. that shouldn't be too hard. icons. >> never mind. >> i think you trimmed my eyebrows. >> my name is w. kamau bell. as a comedian, i made a living finding humor in the parts of america i don't understand. and now i'm challenging myself to dig deeper. i'm on a mission to reach out and experience all the cultures and believes that add color to this crazy country. this is the united shades of america. >> i have said all along that america is based on judeo christian believes. >> america is and always has been a christian nation. >> nope.
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that is not true at all. and it doesn't matter how many times people say it. america was absolutely not founded as a christian nation. check the constitution. there is not one mention of christianity, christians, christmas or even christian bale. weirdly there are two mentions of that man. anyway, the only constitutional mention of religion is about freedom of religion. but as much this kr country was supposed to give the freedom of religious choice it's christianity that's everywhere, even on the money. notice it doesn't say in gods we trust. knowledge of most other religions in america are somewhere between kind of understood to gleefully misunderstood. >> and then there are siks. also known as sikhs. more and more wanting to be called sikhs. even the name is misunderstood.
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so let's see what happens when i show people a picture of a sikh. >> do you have any idea what religion this guy might be? muslim that's -- a lot of people say muslim. >> satin cult. >> i thought you were saying -- did he just say satan? and see a religion? so little is understood about the sikh religion that many people assume they are members of other religions. with a look like this guess which religion is most popular to associate them with. >> sikhs have been responsible. >> the man responsible for shooting a sikh man in his drafway on the run. >> this month's attack on two sikhs. >> a gunman told the victim to go back to your country. >> a crime of hate. >> since 9/11 anti-muslim hate criminals which shouldn't happen have more and more been committed against sikhs.
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in america we can't even get our hate straight. in order to misunderstanding into understanding, a man reached out to me on twitter and invited me to boston for a dialogue on sikhs in america. he is the cocounteder of the advocacy group the sikh coalition. i made the unprecedented move of focusing this episode around an suggestion from twitter. . now i'm on the streets of boston with him thankfully before it's wicked cold. >> thank you for reaching out to me on twitter. >> my pleasure thank you for responding. >> i'm pretty active on twitter. >> yeah. >> what made you decide to reach out. >> sikhs as a community they have their fair share of hate. and this would be an excellent way for learning more about sikhs and the issue we face in america. >> in america christianity is understood by everybody even
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people who aren't christians. even jewish friends kind of get the major who wills, god, jesus. i feel like with the sikh religion it's not even misunderstood it's not understood at all. >> yeah. >> how would you describe your faith? >> i would say sikhism is a religion of love. and in love requires sacrifice for others, especially the oppressed wsh, the marginalized, downtrodden. for example we had sikhs showing up in war-torn syria, providing humanitarian aid. sikhs showing up in haiti during an earthquake. there has never been an instant when they haven't opened up when there are calamities in the united states. >> why don't more people know that. >> the community has been around, but christianity occupies a disproportionate space. so if you are lucky you may find
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a sentence of seekism. >> knowing the textbooks in some states that says they're like muslim or something. here is what they should spay. it was born around 150 0 in the pun jab area of india and packetsen. back then they have the kind of relationship that others have living next to other. there was a vision for peace through a new faith devoted to ekanakar one god sevenless service and unconditional love for one another. he became the first guru. nine gurus followed and grew the religion to 27 million worldwide making it the fifth largest religion in the world. and for the record, guru actually mean as spiritual leader, not just people who are really good at things like
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computers or life x. in my house i'm the smoothy guru. >> can you talk to me about the meaning of the turban and the expression of religion. >> yeah, we call kakar, the articles of faith. the first it's a bracelet made of steel. without a beginning without end. so represents that god doesn't have beginning or end. that there is a comb we wear in the hair reminding us to have clean and tidy hair. and then there are under shorts that we we are sikhism requiring month ogmy in a marital relationship and to exercise chaftty. >> chaftty. so if you pull down your pants and you're in the wrong situation you look at your underwear and go, wait a minute hold on a second. i think i got to go. >> good way to put it. >> probably not spiritual but it's the way i think about it. >> the turban, a sword these
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symbolize sovereignty because if you are not subject to someone else, sovereign then only can you listen to your conscious. then the most important is we are not allowed to cut our hair, a symbol of something given to us by god. >> yes, yeah. >> do women have similar articles of faith. >> yes, women wear the same articles of faith pl unfortunately for americans there is only one way of thinking about what an american looks like. and especially when you've got a beard and a turban you don't fit that stereotype of an american, right. these are the kind of things we are trying to dismantle through education and things like that. >> i read about this idea that like it's hard to just say we aren't muslims, judge us by who we are, we also happen not to be the thing that you think we are. >> no, i think very early on right after 9/11, we made a decision as a community that we
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are not going to say we are not muslim. because that really means, you know, don't attack us -- so attack them. >> yeah process that sounds good. but let's see how it plays out in real life. this viral clip features canadian sikh plktens latch watch what he does when this woman. >> what when is your sharia. >> we welcome you. we love you. we support you. and we love you. >> love most cliftons we confronted like that turn the other cheek with a right cross. >> it's important when there is injustice that we all join forces and work you know to address it. >> thank you for reaching out to me. the problem is now everybody is going to me reaching ut you didn't do a show about me. you may have set a troublesome precedent for me. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> he brought a lot to my attention but another expert i
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wanted to talk to. >> what's your name, zblier my name is dill zufer stene. >> did i meet your dad. >> >> yeah. >> what grade are you? >> i'm in fifth grade. >> now do you go to a school where it's all sikhs or with lots of different kids of different religions. >> there is only one other sikh. >> okay. do kids ever make fun of you because of your ramen or because you cover your hair or anything like that. >> i had some issues like that last year because i moved to a new school. a kid would make fun of me for having long hair. >> when the kids bothered you never thought i should go home and take this off and get a haircut and try to blend in. >> i actually think that i'm lucky to have a sikh. i'm happy to have this. >> nice. nice. that's well said. that's definitely going to be on tovi just so you know that's definitely going on tovi.
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but birds eye made it deliciousfrom zucchini.a. mmm... mashed potatoes...and rice! but made from cauliflower. looks like i need a fork! oh no. (giggles) birds eye veggie made. so veggie good. ♪ i'm in yum yuba city, california. jealous other travel show hosts. juba city is the sikh capital of the united states. sikh americans comprise around
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22% of the area as 66,000 peep. originally from the punjab state of india, they started emigrating in the early 1,900s. today the presence is so strong that in 2017 this happened. >> a roaring applause for yuba city's new mayor. he makes history as the first american sikh woman to be named mayor. >> to get a better understanding of this town, talking with her seems a great place to start. >> what was the reaction when the story goes out america's first female sikh mayor is elected. what was that like for you. >> you know, i never expected it to be even that big. so it was like, you know, starting to receive the phone calls, all of a sudden the newspaper articles and my daughter just, mom, did you hear this? did you read this? so, yeah, just absolutely in shock, you know. >> what brought your parents to america in the first place originally. >> to have a better life, the
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american greem dream. >> and why yuba city. >>ing a culture. >> you'll see a large inyan community in farming is common zpl common in india we can farm here. >> yeah. >> i'm i live in the bay area i've never been to yuba city. and also had not heard there was a huge sikh population. >> yeah. >> why hadn't i heard that am i dumb. >> you're not dumb. >> thank you. >> we just live in our silos. >> the mayor said i'm not dumb so i feel pretty good. can you talk about the sikh religion? what's it like to be a woman in that religion. >> i may not look like a typical sikh woman but i'm 100% sikh. under god we are all equal. that's what sikhism is, men, women, it toents matter. but i say we need to walk the talk. even during my election and my mom was knocking on doors and
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handing out pamphlets. and she was being asked why is your daughter doing this? this is a man's world? and my mom said, well why do we educate our daughters then? if this is what she wants to do i'm going to stand by her. >> for those members of the sikh community saying this. >> yes. >> in that sense what you say about the sikh faith is a lot of times what happens with christianity. what the bible says versus the practitioners of christianity do are far apart. yeah. >> and i think most important part is that we talk about it and have conversation and bring awareness. if you keep quiet about it you'll never get the future generations to move forward, let alone the current ones so. >> yes, certainly as a political leader abperson of faith, a woman of color. >> yes. >> as a william, i'm excited about what happens after mayor of yuba step. i would like the rest of california to get you and then maybe the rest of the world.
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and the galaxy we'll keep moving forward. >> we need more of you too. >> i don't want anybody else to have this job. i got a lot of kids. thank you very much though. >> thank you. thank you. a perfect example of thing a cultural condition is the farm run by karms, who is giving me a tour of the almond orchard. that's right things are about to get wait for it -- nuts. hashtag dad joke. >> lots of times we hear about farming and hear how hard it is to be a farmer with you we don't picture you. >> not somebody who is good looking. >> that's right. that's what i'm saying. >> there is a lot of work goes into it. we're here for four generations and going strong. we acquired the property 42 years ago. our family grows peaches, prunes, walnuts and almonds.
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>> you speak spanish. >> yes. >> did you grow up speaking spanish. >> i did. raised on a farm, predominately indians and the hispanic and mexican people in order to communicate that some of the folks that came to the country earlier married hispanic or mexican women for the opportunity to acquire land. >> yeah. >> marrying mexican women to acquired land what kind of turn of the century reality game show is this? even though the sikhs worked in the fields, american racism prevented them from owning their land. and america's jim crow style grimes laws kept them from bringing wives from india. and at the same time, the mexican revolution led mexican women to california. and because of racism and misogyny these womens opportunities were in the fields next to the sikh men. like the old saying goes,
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familiarity breeds contempt or marriage and babies. luckily the babies grow up as american citizens who can own the land that their parents couldn't. god bless america. what is this coming it towards us. >> that's the shaker that will go through and clamp the stump of the try, high rpm will shake the tree and knock the a almonds off. >> looks like something from "mad max." i would like one of those for my person seven so i could drive up to people i don't like just like -- >> the next part of the process will be we sweep them up and the troorkt with the harvester will pick them up. >> can i drive the troorkt. >> absolutely. >> good. people think i don't work hard. with almonds at almost $10 a pound this is my opportunity to get this
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♪ ♪ >> hey you're a fourth generation american speaking spanish questions basically an american second language. you own a farm which that makes you one of the most americans you can be owning a farm. >> i think i bleed red white and blue. one of the most patriotic people you can me. i live out living a dream and hopefully can pass it on to the
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next generation. >> if what he said sounds strange to you then unfocus your eyes and imagine his tub isn't a cow boy hat? better now? >> his father is also proud of who he is. see his dad started an annual sikh parade here in yuba city. that parade is famous worldwide. >> talk about how the parade got started. >> with god's grace we're looking forward to the 38th annual sikh parade. and well over 00,000 people in attendance. we have open house. >> i'll be there. >> hope to see you there. >> thank you very much. now i have a few almonds to take home. >> sure. >> can you drive that truck to my berkeley i'll give you the address. drive it out to berkeley and we'll figure out something to do. >> put them in the backyard. >> yeah. >>
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switch and you could save $782 on home and auto insurance. call for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™ liberty mutual insurance. another beautiful day in yuba city, california. who am i kid sng why is it so damn hot? my next stop is the largest temple in town. today i'm talking turban which will probably get me on a government list. but the guy i'm talking turbans with ain't worried. he recently wrote an article 11 things you wanted to know aboutmy tub. but were too afraid to ask.
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man, i had 12 things to ask. before i was go in i was told i had to cover my hair which is customary. appear after it was over i had to send home for the industrial strength afro pick. so nappy. let's talk turbans. >> let's talk turbans. whenever i meet somebody and i approach them the first time their eyes inevitably go up here. i'm like my eyes are down here. you know they think about it as we engage in whatever we are doing. the tub isn't a cultural dress going back centuries and thousands of years even. what makes it unique is that it's a religious article. it's not cultural. it's something we wear as a practice of faith. something that reminds us of our duty to defend those who might need help. so by design it's supposed to help people recognize us in a crowd. >> i didn't realize that. if i'm in trouble and i see a sikh around i'm like help me. >> you're supposed to help me stop walking you're supposed to
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help me. >> that's my knew 911. help me, sikh. how come women don't wear it as much. >> the turban has traditionally been for men. we find many more women are starting to wear the turban in female styles in a manner of claiming empowerment. if men with wearing it we're wearing it as well. >> is there are there different types much sportiers. >> people can wear the colors they like. but those aren't religiously dictated but cultural. >> et cetera not like the black belt system in karate. >> there is no formal ranking. that's an interesting concept actually. >> i'm thinking outside the box. >> you should patent that. >> let's get it a shot i'm ready to be turbanned. >> we will turbanned. you'll get turban fied jo this
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is how much fabric goes into a turban. it's not extra long because of my giant head. i asked that question specifically. >> all right, kamau this is your life you're on brand. >> it feels very reassuring. like someone is hugging my head. >> it is a head hug. >> what's that. t as a headhug. >> it's a hea hug. ke me feel like a sikh.idn't more like nick canon. i don't need those problems. most americans don't know that they actually do know who sikhs are. sikhs are represented throughout the media. lily sing. jasmine kari and best selling poet rupicarr. and juarez. he started starred in many
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hollywood films. but he has also been sm in spike lee's inside man weather, starring the greatest actor of all time period denzel washington. >> he agreed to sit down with me and talk about sikh mans in the arts. what's that like to be an actor in hollywood. >> let me paint it in a way one might be able to understand. i'm black in the 50s. i can't tell you the number of meetings i've had with agents they were like -- and this? this stays? i go this stays this goes no where. >> are we keeping that. >> i grew up in brooklyn. i see myself as american. i'm the guy next door. i can play that part, right. i played that part in life. >> you've been the guy next door. >> i've been the guy next door. i've been the love interest. i've been the heart break interest. once i got a call for a film. the part wasn't lake sikh man
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comes out of bank. it was larry comes out of bank. it waept -- they're not looking for sikh actors. what we need is sikh directors, sikh writers and sikh producers to tell their story. >> there is the thing about just like hoping the people who are current in power just expand their idea of what could be, you know what i'm staying, larry is the star and they go it doesn't have to be a regularry. it could be juarez. >> this is where i look at the camera and say it could be jaurd. >> when we first started talking about episodepy wasn't familiar with your name until they said he was in inside man. >> because i was about to walk off the show. >> i doept care to meet him. can't make me talk to him. we'res wasting our time then they said he was in inside man. then okay within inches of denzel washington how did that come together. >> it was spike and i he came to me and said it's your
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experience. this is it. tut it out there. the turban being ripped off it's an important scene. and it's something i'm sure everybody sikh male fears to portray that moment is important. >> life imitating art is that's what it's about. >> do you ever get pushback how you are living as a sikh. >> it's been a responsibility. i feel like this thing that happens with a lot of minorities is victimization role. and they were taking the role of victim. i'm not -- i'm not a victim. >> yeah. >> you can punch me in the face. and i've been assaulted we can talk about that. but i'm still not a victim. i'm a new yorker. i don't know if you got that. >> yeah, you new yorkers are so subtle with that. you mentioned you had been assaulted. can you talk about that a little bit. >> six months after 9/11 joe's
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piazza, bleaker street, 4:00 a.m. this guy that's built like a mack truck, hunl. starts -- 4:00 a.m. loud you're the perfect target. and he walked by and sucker punched me in the face. and i fell to the there were. i nearly lost vision in my right eye. to this day the retina is broken -- so in the light i'm like this. but what am i going to do? be ubts? >> yeah. >> what am i going to have a child support on my shoulder. >> yes, owe. >> i don't want to go through life like that. you know how i'm going through life celebrate going. >> you are certainly a more evolved human being i'm a blamer. i practice the religion it's that guy's fault. >> fear, hate, the human condition reminds me of a great quote i learned going to sikh
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camp. fear none. respect all. >> there it is. as we saw the arc of the moral universe is ongs but it bends toward juarez being a romanticic lead in a reese witherspoon movie. >> hi, reese. shrimp fans - this one's for you. it's red lobster's new create your own shrimp trios. pick 3 of 9 craveable creations for just $15.99. you can enjoy the classics you love, along with new creations like savory crab-topped shrimp, decadent parmesan truffle shrimp scampi, and creamy shrimp and lobster pasta. your perfect shrimp plate is just waiting to be discovered. but shrimp trios won't last, so get to red lobster today. and get your red lobster fix with our weekday lunch starting at $7.99. of coursbut if you hadowerful. any lingering doubts
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since i've been in yuba city, california, i've learned a
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lot about the sikh culture. but i ain't done yet. and the perfect place to get my learn on is the becoming american museum, which highlights the rich history of sikh immigration into california. i'm here to meet with raur, activist and award-winning film maker valerie car. do her a favor and watch her films. >> we're talking about what this means to you. >> that's my history on that wall. my grandfather sailed by steam ship from india to california in 1913 and so he looked just like this when he arrived on the shores of california. we have been so invisible for so long and that just to have a wall telling the history, that alone is life-giving to us. >> yeah. yeah. there is a duality of invisible but also highly visible. >> yes. >> when you're visible you're not seen as sikhs. >> what happened after 9/11 was a new racial capturing was
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formed in the united states. that category is the muslim terrorist. who is in that category? there are muslims, brown muslims, south asian behind ewe. christian arabs, sikh was turban was brown, white sikhs. the category is huge. >> valerie is right. despite a steady decline since 9/11 things are betting bad. hate criminals in the u.s. haves risen 0% since 2014. >> the first person killed in a hate crime after september 11th was a sikh man standing in front of his gas station in phoenix, arizona. he was a family friend. i called him uncle. and the man when he was arrested called himself patriot. he was the first of dozens of people killed in the aftermath of 9/11. on the 15-year anniversary, i arrived at the gas station where he was killed and so i set down
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candles in the spot he bled to death. and his brother turned to me and i could see the same sorrow in his eyes and he said nothing has changed. and so the next day we -- we called the murderer in prison. and i remember the phone is ringing and my heart is beating in my ears. and i hear the voice of franke roch why i ask him. >> and he says i'm sorry for what happened to your family. i'm also sorry for all those killed on 9/11. ronnena responds and says this is the first time i'm hearing you say you feel sorry. and then frank says, yes i'm sorry for what i did to your brother. one day when i go to heaven to be judged by god i will ask to see your brother. and i will hug him and i will ask for forgiveness. and rhona says, we already
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forgive you. >> wow! >> forgiveness is not forgetting. forgiveness is freedom from hate. >> what is it about the sikh faith -- that seems to be like woven into the fabric of the faith. there is certainly a bigger, clearer message about inclusion and equality that i don't necessarily hear from the christianity i grew up in. >> the sikh faith is a faith about love. they see no stranger, no enemy. the stereotypes are embedded in our nation's imagination. we have been wired to see black criminal, brown illegal, transimmoral, women property, turban-wearing muslims, terrorists. it's just the air that we are breathing. and we can't help -- they're in the air. we can't help but absorb them even if we don't endorse. >> i recognize it in myself when i see specifically a man in a
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turban that i think foreign. >> yes. >> hearing the question how long have you lived in america? nope, nope, nope don't say that. you know, i can feel myself like have to click that button off in my head. >> i can train my eyes to look upon the faces of all strangers i see on the street, on the subway on the screen and say in my mind sister, brother, and if we can see strangers as sisters and brothers, then we are more likely to step into the fire when they need us. so brother, you are in the battle with me. >> i should -- i brought cameras. >> that's what i need. >> a witty sense of humor. didn't have to happen? i didn't see it. (vo) what if we could go back? what if our car...
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a major part of the sikh religion is taking action against injustice. this leads many sikhs in america to join the armed forces but lieutenant colonel his experience led him to fight for his turban as well as his country. another minority doing twice the work but getting paid once.
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>> our tenth prophet said that, you know what, it's not enough to justice just be a saint, sit home and pray to god. you have to get out, get involved. you have to fight injustice. they taught us to be saint soldiers. so it's natural that when sikhs come to the united states they'd want to continue that tradition. sikhs in the u.s. have served honorably since at least the early 19 hundredss. world in world war ii and waerld and korea and vietnam. that's a lot of blood sweat and tears and the turbans and beerds weren't a problem. >> they served with the turban and beard. >> you don't want the hair which willy nily. it's tide up tight and wrapped up. >> that a quote from the religious text which willy nily. >> i'm not sure. i'd have to look it up. >> the book says thousand shalt
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not let the hair be which willy nily. >> could be. could be. >> naturally when the army recruiter came to me the first year of medical school and said would you like to join i said yeah, love to join. you know. but i come like this. you know with turban and beard. he said, yeah, yeah we have -- we have sikhs in the army. it's no problem. about 2008 they said actually we looked at the the regs you have to remove the turban and shade shave the beard. and i said respectfully, sir i can't do that. it took me a year and a half, nearly 50 congressional signatures on the letter to the secretary of defense gates at the time. 16,000 petitioners on a letter. a mammoth effort to get one guy in. >> so when you got the exemption it was just for you to we are the turban and beard it wasn't for any sikh? >> yeah, correct. so i was the first religious accommodation in like a generation >> oh, wow.
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>> for anybody. not just sikhs. after i got my one-off accommodation. i deployed end of 2011 to hellman province in afghanistan. and we saw a lot of devastating injuries. >> i'm guessing none of the people you took care of he you walk in the room and said i'm the doctor said wait you're wearing a turban and have a beard. >> no. >> nang god you are here. >> nobody cares. come on. it took us almost ten years of effort. but we were able to get a policy change that now allows turbans and beards and hijabs, allows for yarmulkes and other religious expression. this is just a policy change for the army. but i was proud and really happy that we did it not just for sikhs, that we were able to advocate for muslims and jews, christian as well. if the largest employer in the
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united states, that being the military, can tell you, look, your turban and beard are unprofessional, that's not the country we are. we're better than that. that's why it's so important to take part in protests. you take part in petitions. you take part in the political process. and that's the only way we can preserve this beautiful experiment that we call america. >> everything you say with how you feel as an american, you're clearly patriotic. in the military. we want you to be the future leaders. but >> yeah. >> and turn that into helpful curiosity. >> we have a tradition in the military of giving coins, old, old tradition so i brought you one of my coins as a sincere thanks. >> really? >> yes. >> this is for me? >> that's for you. that's the sixth symbol. so it's a circle representing unity and then three swords
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representing social justice and freedom. >> i'm honored to have this. >> i don't know where you pulled this out of. i don't want to create the illusion you have magic. >> i should have pulled it out of your ear. >> thank you. >> any time. >> thank you for your service. >> thank you. ♪ ♪ >> the sick identity of soldiers is a large part of the religion, they have their own style of marshall arts that dates back to the 17th century. now i'm about to get a lesson from brother and sister or i'm about to get schooled, depending on your perspective. >> hey. >> nice to meet you. >> you, too. >> i want to bring varieties of weapons, anything you want to see first. >> i feel like i've never seen one of these in real life; just movies. >> motion like that. >> it's heavier than i thought.
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i've been having problems with this camera man for quite awhile. come here, i need to talk to you. [ laughter ] >> nice. >> don't hit yourself. >> is there anything cool you say before you start like in kong foo? the battle cry. >> do we just call all the weapon baring in the area? >> come out of the wood work. >> the rope will be able to deflect arrow so this will be the front line. >> that's one of the coolest things i've ever seen. >> try to grab it, basically move your arms and hands side to side. >> i'd like to say i did that on purpose but i did not. [ laughter ] >> that was great, thank you >> that was great, thank you very much.
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♪ when i first came to ocean bay, what i saw was despair. i knew something had to be done. hurricane sandy really woke people up, to showing that we need to invest in this community. i knew having the right partner we could turn this place around. it was only one bank that could finance a project this difficult and this large, and that was citi. preserving affordable housing preserves communities.
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so we are doing their kitchens and their flooring and their lobbies and the grounds. and the beautification of their homes, giving them pride in where they live, will make this a thriving community once again. ♪ you know, it's nice to have deep conversations about religion and culture but dang it, sometimes it's time to eat food out of a paper cup. i was personally invited by the man in charge of it all.
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>> 38 years strong. you just look around to see how many people come from near and far with one common goal and that is just to pay respects to the scripture and so i hope you enjoy and take it all in. >> it's a lot to take in. >> it is. >> i can't just roll out. in order to respect the religion, again, i need to cover my hair. ♪ ♪ >> so what do you like about this? >> i just love the way we're showing the community who we are and we're all about brotherhood and love and humanity. >> is this your first time here? >> no, we come every year. >> why do you come every year? >> it's really easy to lose touch of yourself and your roots and heritage and it's good to be reminded. >> tell me, what does it mean to be a sic to you? >> to love everyone and respect?
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>> is this a motorcycle gang? >> no. [ laughter ] >> patrick, let's go get some food. >> like all great festivals, there is plenty of food but here, there is one key difference. all this free? >> 100% donation, 100% service. >> they are handing out food. this is $20 worth of food in the bay area they gave me for free. now that i'm stuffed, it's time to walk it off and boy, do we walk? so that's the head priest. they are singing religious hems on top of the main flow and they will do that throughout the parade. so here comes the five with their swords drawn.
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>> okay. what are the brooms? the scripture is coming and they are trying to clean up the path and they are showering flowers. now i mean, it's beautiful. it's like spiritual and determined at the same time, you know. with everything going, i feel like i'm in the middle of a dream. i keep seeing things i'm not expecting to see. >> now you're being showered with flowers. >> oh, yeah. >> when i left, i was still shocked that i hadn't heard of this parade before but also, i was a little afraid of what happens if too many non-sikhs hear about it. are we ready to handle so many people that look different from how we define america and a religion that has equity baked into it? are we readily to regularly and truly talk about love, piece and oneness. that much access to free food?e
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i hope the rest of us can because the sikhs i met are ready and the values they believe in match up well with what this country is supposeed to believe in. are you ready? i know i am. i got my head scarf picked out for next year. ♪ ♪ when i was a kid, there were two countries, east germany and west germany. they were divided by a wall and at some point they realized the wall was dumb, tore it down and they are one. the great wall of china was built to keep out western civilization. how is that working out? point is, walls suck. on this episode of "united shades of america," we're talking about the u.s., mexico border. we'll talk to people that live on this side of the wall and that side of the wall. who wants

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