College Voices
Changing The World With A Rainbow Turban For Pride Month
Jiwandeep Kohli recently tweeted a picture as a proud bisexual Sikh American after participating in the Pride Parade in 2018 in San Diego, California. He had not anticipated his post to receive over 150 thousand views in the following week.
Using the different folds in his turban, Kohli weaved different colored fabrics into his headpiece to make a rainbow. Kohli had seen a photo of a man wearing the colors of the rainbow on his turban at a pride parade a few years ago and was inspired by the post.
“I was looking at that, and I realized the way I tie mine it had the exact right number of layers to make a rainbow,” said Kohli.
Kohli was pleased with the many positive responses his twitter post received and was excited to teach others how they could join him by making their own. “I’ve been really, really happy to see so much positivity and welcome from so many people,” said Kohli.
Kohli also made sure to inform others that wearing a turban is the responsibility for Sikhs following their religion and is not the same as just wearing a hat. Kohli explained, “I wouldn’t want people to have the impression that I’m just wearing it as an accessory. A turban is a sign to the world that you’re a person the world can turn to for help,” The turban is a traditional head garment for followers of the Sikh religion and is not meant to be worn without significance.
Three days after Kohli posted the tweet, Barack Obama posted a response and tagged Kohli to his post. In his post, Obama thanked Kohli for making this country “a little more equal.” It is actions like Kohli’s that are bringing others to speak out about inequalities and that will lead to significant changes in the world.