Captain America: Stumbling Upon the Power of Stories
As a speaker, over the years in my public engagements in schools across the country I do my best to have my host’s bring me in as a stranger and offer a minimal introduction. I like to start my talks by posing two questions:
What words come to mind when you see me?
Where do you think I am from?
The first question usually gets a few recurring responses such as “blue, cool shoes, beard, that thing on your head, and skinny” as the most common words. The second question broadly evokes places such as the Middle East, Africa, Asia, India, or somewhere outside the United States. Most kids do not perceive me being from America. When I ask my follow up question, “Can you tell where someone if from by looking at them?” Almost everyone says, ‘No’. Then we start to unpack why they mentioned places outside the United States just by looking at me. We discuss how we pick up many cues from the culture that surrounds us and how this informs the stereotypes we hold of each other.
With this baseline, I proceed to share my story using cartoons and photographs. I start with being born in Washington DC and spending the first few years in suburbs of the nation's capital. My parents moved back to their homeland India, and I spent my schooling years in India’s capital, New Delhi. I talk about how I was a very shy introverted kid. Anytime I got bullied I kept it all inside and did not share my troubles or vulnerabilities with anyone. One of my most impactful memories from childhood is being called in subtle and not so subtle ways a variation of the word, ‘ugly’ in Punjabi, Hindi, and English. I heard it so many times that I internalized it as a life defining quality which would inform decisions I made later in life.
In the first days of November 1984, my family narrowly survived death at the hands of a mob following the assassination of the Indian Prime Minister by her two Sikh bodyguards. Thousands of Sikhs were not so lucky with thousands butchered in cities across India. After high school I moved by myself back to my homeland, the United States. In my sophomore year in college during an identity crisis, I took off my turban and cut my long unshorn hair which has been part of my life as a Sikh. The next 10 years of my life became a journey to discover my real self. I voraciously read books and felt a connection to books on Buddhism. I continued my personal journey and in graduate school I stayed with my brother for a few months. At his repeated encouragement I started attending As-Di-Vaar Kirtan (Ballad of Hope composed by Guru Nanak Jee) at a Gurudwara in the hills of East Bay north of Berkeley, California.
I fell in love with kirtan. A few years later I embraced Sikhi as a way of life for the first time as a choice of my own. In August 2001, I put on my turban for the first time in 10 years. By this time I was living and working just north of New York City and a month later, the tragedy of 9/11 unfolded which altered life in many ways for all of us. While, in public engagements the details of this tragedy is discussed in an age-appropriate way with elementary school kids and with older students the intense impact on communities like Sikhs and others is shared to foster growth.
A cartoon created in the aftermath of the tragedy of 9/11 and the ensuing hate crimes against communities perceived as the ‘enemy’ changed my life. In the next few months I discovered the power of cartoons to share the narrative from the perspective of Sikhs in America and beyond. I have now created hundreds of cartoons full of turbans and beards which I call Sikhtoons.
Ten years into this journey as a cartoonist, I created an illustration of Captain America in a turban and beard. That illustration came to manifest in real life with me dressing as Captain America on the streets of New York City in June 2013. For a few hours, fellow Americans treated me in radically altered ways. They hugged me, took photos with me, invited me to weddings, and police officers took photos with me. However, as soon as I was out of this fictional superhero’s uniform I experienced some fellow Americans seeing me as an outsider again and hurling insults and telling me to go back home. This reminds me to continue my work as Captain America. I have been asked to dress as Captain America many times since.
I show little ones at the end of my talks a few photos from the first time I dressed as Captain America. I like to end my talks with posing the first question again. What words come to mind now that you know a little bit of my story?
“Cool, creative, amazing, brave, and courageous.”
This is the power of our stories when shared with a touch of humility, kindness, and vulnerability. I believe we can choose to see the many connections in our lived experiences that can forever alter the way we see each other.
This story is also captured in a short animation film, American Sikh that I co-created with Ryan Westra, a filmmaker based in Southern California. We spent 4 years making this film which premiered at Tribeca Festival last year. The film has won awards and honorable mentions at festivals from Birmingham, San Diego, Seattle to Wichita, Kansas. The film has received rave reviews and testimonials from Americans hailing from diverse walks of life. The film’s success is testament to the power of our stories in connecting with the incredibly diverse and unique sea of humanity we are all a part of. I cannot emphasize enough for parents and youth reading this story to find creative ways to share your own story!
About the Author:
Vishavjit Singh is a New York City based TEDx speaker, illustrator, writer, performance artist, DEI advocate and creator of Sikhtoons.com. Vishavjit hosts talks & keynotes in schools, universities, government agencies and companies including Google, Apple, Amazon, NASA & Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. His latest short animation film, American Sikh had its World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival.