Following his father’s death at the hands of a white supremacist, Pardeep Kaleka’s life could have been consumed by hate.
However, ever since that day, Aug. 5, 2012, he has focused on waging peace.
Inspired by the courage his mother had to move forward following his father’s death and motivated by his Sikh faith, Kaleka has worked as an anti-hate activist, working nationwide to address conflict, hate and the rise of targeted violence.
“Before we leave our place of worship, we say Nanak naam chardi kala, tere bhane sarbat da bhala,” Kaleka said. “What it means is ‘In God’s name, we shall be relentlessly optimistic and work for the peace and prosperity of all mankind.”
Kaleka was chosen as the 2025 recipient of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Ellen Gilligan Leadership in Racial Equity and Social Justice Award for his work to stop hate and build safe, inclusive, peaceful communities. The award, created in 2019, recognizes those who have worked to make our region welcoming and inclusive for all.
From an early age, Kaleka knew he wanted to be of service to community. A first-generation immigrant, Kaleka and his family moved from Punjab, India to Milwaukee when he was 6 years old. After graduating from Marquette University with a degree in criminal justice and sociology, his career has revolved around civil service. He spent four years as a Milwaukee Police officer and 7-1/2 years a teacher at a high school for at-risk students.
Aug. 5, 2012, he found a different calling. That day, in Oak Creek, the deadliest hate attack on a place of worship in nearly 50 years took place at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. Kaleka’s father, who was the temple’s founder and president, was one of seven victims killed and four injured in a shooting spree.
“For us as a community, the Sikh community here in America, we felt there was a responsibility to not be defined by what happened to us but be defined by the way we responded to it,” said Kaleka, about how he moved forward after the trauma.
His response was to reach out to a former white supremacist to understand what would motivate such hate to perpetrate such a crime. The unlikely duo co-authored a book, “The Gifts of Our Wounds,” which talks about the power of forgiveness. They also formed a nonprofit called Serve2Unite. The organization’s initial goal was to educate people about the Sikh community so as to combat hate.
“Our motivation was how do we not let the narrative of hate and division be the lasting narrative from this,” Kaleka said.
Since then, the nonprofit has engaged communities locally and nationally to counter hate and address conflict using a trauma-informed approach.
Kaleka’s work to foster a safer community for everyone – be it of different faiths or racial or ethnic groups – led him in 2019 to Interfaith Conference, where he became the nonprofit’s first nonwhite, non-Christian leader. In 2020, during the height of COVID, he became executive director of the Zeidler Center, a nonprofit that promotes dialogue between people who disagree and organizes discussions about tough issues.
He’s also served as an adjunct professor of peace studies at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a de-radicalization specialist with Parents4Peace, a nonprofit that works with families and individuals who are exiting various forms of extremism. Most recently, Kaleka served as a conciliation specialist with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service. The office was established during the civil rights era to help local communities who are facing tension or violent conflicts. It was dismantled as part of the current administration’s restructuring of governmental agencies.
In a time of extreme polarization, fueled by misunderstanding, hate and technology, Kaleka finds his work as a bridge builder and peacemaker to be even more arduous. The work is heavy, financial support for it has been cut and oftentimes he feels like his individual efforts aren’t enough.
“We’ve gotten punched in the face and knocked down,” said Kaleka, about fellow peacemakers. “I feel like we’re starting to see people say, ‘Let’s get off the mat and be dedicated to bringing communities together.”
Kaleka finds refuge in his faith and his family, which includes his wife and four children.
And he has hope.
“I do have faith in the fact that the moral arc of this universe bends toward the good,” Kaleka said. “That bending takes a lot of energy and strength and it just doesn’t happen by a force outside of people. It takes people to bend it. I do feel like I see people all the time bending that arc. That gives me hope.”