Earlier this week marked the one-year anniversary of the tragic shooting at the Oak Creek, WI gurdwara. The Sikh community has come together to reflect and the actions we can take to prevent this tragedy from happening again. Sangat has been a crucial aspect to this process, whether it is the Sikh sangat across the country or within our local gurdwaras; we look to each other to heal and find support. As the anniversary drew closer I knew I wanted to do something to commemorate the day. After spending the summer interning at the SALDEF office, I didn’t want to lose the opportunity to bring people together in the nation’s capital to remember the tragedy and what we could do to bring about change. Time and time again, I heard the idea of chardi kala, eternal optimism and high spirits, mentioned and I knew I wanted to do something that would reflect this concept as one sangat. 
I had heard about the Surat Fauj Running Club from some of the Surat Initiative Interns. This is a project inspired by Fauja Singh, the world’s oldest marathon runner. The purpose of this running club is to promote physical activity while also running for a cause. To honor the victims of the Oak Creek shooting, Surat Fauj organized the Oak Creek Remembrance Run, a national run in solidarity against violence. After hearing about this project, I thought it would be great to organize one in Washington D.C. as well. Ultimately, I wanted to organize an event that everyone could participate in together and afterwards, discuss the tragedy and what has happened after. I mapped about a mile and half on the National Mall as the track, it seemed fitting to have the run between the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. For after the run, a few of the other interns and I thought of discussion questions for the group to help guide a reflective session. 
Running towards the Washington Monument in unity with the other participants reminded me how we are all fighting for the same cause- ending hate crimes and justice for all. One year ago, the Oak Creek, WI sangat experienced a tragedy but today, we all stand united with them in this fight. A year after Oak Creek we are reminded of the shooting, of the victims and of the Oak Creek sangat. However, we are also reminded that we can all take more proactive measures in ensuring this tragedy does not happen again. Many times, we care about an issue but the passion we have does not last very long. The discussion after the run was a reminder to keep this passion alive and to constantly be acting upon it, whether it is educating others about Sikhi, keeping our own connection with Sikhi strong or fighting against hate crimes. –Gagan Kaur
