BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Manpreet Kaur is now the first Sikh-Punjabi woman to be elected to the Bakersfield City Council. She spoke about how historic this opportunity is for the entire community.
“We might be the first ones through the door, but we never want to be the last,” she said. “Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of role models that look like us, that had lived experiences like ourselves.”
And now she’s working to make sure the work of her family can be continued through those that look up to her.
“I come from a working-class family. My parents are immigrants. I’m a woman of color. I’m a Sikh Punjabi woman, and all of those different layers, at some of those intersections, I hope that this brings forward those who will someday replace me.”
Kaur says her parents immigrated to America from Punjab, India to give their family a better life.
Raji Brar, the president of the Bakersfield Sikh Women’s Association and the first Sikh woman on a city council in California echoes that this win is for everyone.
“Our folks come to this country with the hope that their kids get treated equally. It doesn’t matter where you come from. It doesn’t matter what you look like. That you can be anything you want in America. So when you see Manpreet, that idea in her is visualized, that she just did that.”
Kaur went to the University of California San Diego for her undergraduate degree and then came back to Bakersfield to start the Jakara Movement. And after starting the organization she went to the University of Wisconsin Madison for her two master's degrees to learn more about local government.
“All of my projects, even in my urban planning program, were around Bakersfield and different things," explained Kaur. "So I’ve really made sure that I’ve always centered that in my life.”
Brar says Kaur has a unique commitment to her community.
“Manpreet was always there for the community. It didn’t matter if they were young or old, she was right there to help everyone, and that’s what I admired about her the most was her commitment to the community.”
While she is still processing the emotions of the win she dedicates this opportunity to her younger self.
“Growing up I think that would have meant a lot to me, to see people reflected in our elected offices that look like me and had experiences like my own families. And I think that’s what I’m excited about is being able to stay connected to the community in the same way and meet more residents of Ward 7.”
The city council installation ceremony is taking place Wednesday at the city hall at 5:15 p.m.
