Sikhs raise awareness of religion at Fresno school

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- As they face misdirected anger and hate in a series of crimes in the Central Valley and across the country, Sikhs are taking steps to raise awareness of who they really are.

At Central High School East Saturday morning, speakers like 17-year-old Karanveer Pannu, a high school student from New Jersey, talked about the struggles of being Sikh in America.

He actually wrote a book about bullying.

Leaders of the Sikh Women Alliance say Sikhs are more likely to get bullied than people from any other religion in the US.

"We have a civic duty to go out and learn about each other's faith tell them about ours, learn about theirs and say this is who we are," Tejinder Purewa of the Sikh Women Alliance said. "That's where the Sikh Women Alliance came and that's our goal."

The group's been in the Fresno area for three years.