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Connections

Connections: Discussing the question, "Why do we hate?"

“Why do we hate?” It’s a question we explore with two men whose paths have crossed after coming from very different perspectives. Pardeep Kaleka lost his father in 2012, when a white supremacist opened fire on a Sikh temple. Arno Michaelis helped form the gang that produced the mass shooter – that gang was the largest racist skinhead organization in the world. Now, Michaelis speaks out against racism and has written a book called “My Life After Hate.” He and Kaleka met for the first time in 2013, and since then, they’ve formed an educational organization and written a book, “The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate.”

They’ll be in Rochester later this month as guests of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester’s Levine Center to End Hate, but first, they share their stories and their message on Connections. Our guests:

  • Pardeep Kaleka, co-author of “The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate”
  • Arno Michaelis, co-author of “The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate”
  • Karen Elam, director of the Levine Center to End Hateat the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.