‘WE ARE ALL TOGETHER’
De Blasio joins turban tying ceremony at Sikh Cultural Society Inc. in Richmond Hill
BY DEAN MOSES
Mayor Bill de Blasio had a
turban tied for solidarity on
Sunday, Aug. 29.
The atmosphere outside the
Gurdwara, the Sikh Cultural
Society Inc. in Richmond Hill,
Queens was one of unbridled
excitement on Sunday, Aug.
29. Those attending the house
of worship that afternoon eagerly
awaited a ceremony that
has not been performed in 30
years.
David Dinkins was the last
New York City mayor to have
had a turban fastened to his
head all the way back in 1992.
According to Harpreet Singh
Toor, chairman of public policy
and external affairs for the
Sikh Cultural Society, the process
which sees the head of the
city wrapped in cloth is both a
gesture of gratitude and a symbol
of tolerance.
“Today, we just wanted to
honor the mayor by tying a turban
on him while he speaks,”
Toor said.
Toor, like many of those
in attendance of the event,
were grateful for the efforts
put forth by de Blasio to allow
Sikhs in the NYPD to proudly
wear their turban and beard.
For those in the Sikh community,
the inability to don articles
of their faith had become
a deterrent, preventing them
from joining the Police Department.
This was heartbreaking
for individuals like Toor who
says he once wanted to serve
his city as a member of the
NYPD but couldn’t.
“Today, by the mayor putting
on the turban we are just
making that message clear:
This is America, and one
should not be judged from their
appearance because we end up
making judgements on their
appearance and through the
wrong judgement sometimes
people die, which has happened
especially after 9/11,”
Toor said, describing hate
crimes committed against the
Sikh community.
Remembering the days after
the horrors of Sept. 11, 2001,
Toor referenced the death of a
man who was brutally beaten
after leaving the Sikh Cultural
Society in the following weeks.
He hopes actions such as the
Mayor de Blasio was happy to take part in the ceremony. Photos by Dean Moses
turban tying ceremony will
help unite Sikhs and fellow
New Yorkers, preventing such
bloodshed and ignorance from
occurring in the future.
After his arrival at the temple,
de Blasio was all smiles
as he sat behind a desk and
underwent the turban tying
process.
“It is an honor because we
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | SEPT. 3 - SEPT. 9, 2021
are here today sending a message
that the city — this country
and this world — needs
this message that we are all together.
A message of respect. A
message of inclusion. The Sikh
community has contributed
profoundly to New York City.
I want to make it very clear:
New York City is a better place
because of this community.
We need this community; we
cherish this community. And
yet, in a world where there’s so
much misunderstanding and
too many biases and prejudices,
we have to fight every day,
every one of us to remind people
of these great contributions
to remind people, the value of
this community and why all
of us need to stand shoulder to
shoulder,” de Blasio said.
Emerging as a new, albeit
more colorful man with his orange
turban, the mayor strode
around the Gurdwara (where
worship services are held) and
paid his respects.
“Several of my colleagues
here today talked about the
decision to bring members
of the Sikh community into
the NYPD and to allow them
to recognize their traditions,
their beliefs honorably. I went
to a graduation ceremony a few
months ago for the NYPD. And
in the front row were some of
the most distinguished graduates
of the police academy,
those who had done the best on
the test, those who showed the
most potential and promise.
There was a young Sikh man
with his turban and his shield
and badge number on the turban.
And I looked at that and I
thought to myself, how many
good young men and women
never had that opportunity
before who could have done so
much who could have protected
this city and contributed
and how wrong it was that they
were excluded,” de Blasio said.
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