Rebecca Cooper

I am using Chapter 9 of American Hate in my 6th grade Religions of the World class. All 100 of our 6th graders at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes Episcopal School in Alexandria, Virginia read Akal’s story as part of our Sikhism unit.

I had the pleasure of meeting the author last May at an educator’s event sponsored by Teaching for Change where I shared that I take students every year to the Sikh Foundation of Virginia. I loved having Arjun Sethi’s book as a resource to provide an insider’s voice on Sikhism and to be a catalyst for discussions about bullying.

I thank Sethi for his work and for amplifying the voices of those who have been on the receiving end of so much hatred.  My students are wiser and hopefully more empathetic as a result of his work.