The Jakara Movement is a grassroots community-building organization working to empower, educate, and organize Punjabi Sikhs, and other marginalized communities; to advance their health, education, and economic, social, and political power. We strive to create a Gurmat-inspired community, rooted in the struggle of our foremothers and forefathers, to develop powerful, informed, and organized youth leadership, locally-rooted residential power, and community capacity that will be a key partner in building a better future for all.

MLK Day Car Caravan and Parade - Sacramento - January 18th 2021

In partnership with Black Lives Matter Sacramento and NAACP, we participated in this year's Reclaim MLK Day Car Caravan and Parade. We took community members from the Punjabi Sikh Community to participate in the car caravan. We donated items such as water bottles and PPE (hand sanitizers, masks, gloves) before, during and after the parade to other participants and attendees. One of our members Harsimran Kaur was interviewed during the caravan by ABC10 News (1:08 in this video)

Stop AAPI Hate and Black Lives Matter Protests

We organized vigils all over California, from Bakersfield to Sacramento to the Bay Area and the Central Valley, after the wave of violence against Asian Americans. We also participated in Black Lives Matter protests and brought our community along to learn about our connected struggles. Through these events, we were able to expand the framework of our communities and strengthen the relationships amongst Asian American groups and the Black community.

Punjabi Radio USA

Our staff had an in-depth interview on the biggest ethnic radio station for Punjabis. This conversation centered the history of Black people in the United States and the links between all of our struggles. We covered the timeline from the founding of the United States to the current day situation. 

Movies That Matter

We hold a monthly Movies That Matter series on zoom that centers films or documentaries that spark conversation in our communities. This past year, we included Panther and gook in our monthly series. These films made us discuss power building through solidarity and intersectionalities of our struggles as immigrants on these indigenous lands. For Panther, we invited Landon Williams, former Black Panther, to discuss his experiences in power building. For gook, we collaborated with Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) and our youth from UC Davis and Sacramento State University had conversations after the film surrounding our experiences as first or second generation Asian Americans in the United States.

Discussions with Youth

We encourage and organize our high school and college chapters to engage with other clubs on their campuses. These other clubs and organizations such as the Black Student Unions and HIP provided new ways for our youth to engage with their own experiences and relate them to other marginalized groups in America.