Hamden Hall Hosts Powerful Message of Hope

An unexpected friendship between a Sikh and a former skinhead made for a powerful story that was shared with the greater community at a recent presentation co-hosted by Hamden Hall and ADL Connecticut.

Champions for Change featured Pardeep Kaleka and Arno Michaelis, both of whom were on Hamden Hall’s stage May 29. The two men now share a mutual desire to fight hate and make a difference following a hate crime that compelled them to join forces.

“We hope that listeners took away the message of hope and healing. Arno and I are fortunate to collaborate with the Anti-Defamation League over the years as our work intersects a plethora of issues from race relations to mental health,” said Kaleka.

Kaleka and Michaelis are co-founders of Serve 2 Unite, which formed in 2012 after six members of a Sikh temple in Milwaukee were murdered by a white supremacist.

“To have partners who understand the complexity of healing from our history of division and hate will take courage. It will take courage to not only reflect on societal harm, but it will also take courage to look into the harm that we all may engage in through our perceptions, biases, actions, and sometimes inactions that continue this harm. Our world is calling upon us to ease the suffering of the wounds of the past and to usher in a future that is embracing of all of God’s creation, and we can only do this if we have courage,” maintained Kaleka.