This week all of Fresno mourns but the Punjabi Sikh community in Fresno remembers, laments, and celebrates loudest. Jasbir Kaur Sidhu (lovingly known in the community as “Guddi Sidhu”) was a tour de force in the Fresno Punjabi Sikh community for over three decades. To tell her story provides a history of the community, its growth, its beauty, and its grace.

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa! Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh! Dear Bakersfield sangat ji & beyond,  Growing up in the Bakersfield community, I had a unique insight into disparities of inequality. It was during my years away from California while pursuing my degree in Political Science that I promised to learn, return, and strive for equity in the political, economic, and social development of the Central Valley. During college, I concentrated on understanding the Punjabi history that led so many families to immigrate in the Central Valley during the 1980s.