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The first of four gatherings will take place on: Tuesday, December 6th from 4:30 – 6:30 PM, held at the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center at the ACC Highland Campus Please join us for a series of gatherings aimed at supporting our Iranian Riverbats and others in our community with ties to Iran. These gatherings will provide a space for those impacted by the political violence in Iran to come together, build community and collective empowerment, and process the challenging developments taking place inside Iran. Each event will feature Persian tea and sweets, live music, and facilitated dialogue aimed at processing the collective trauma that is impacting the Iranian community at large. Featuring musical guest, Mohammad Firoozi, who will lead us in singing emancipatory anthems both new and old. |
Al' America by
Four out of ten Americans say they dislike Muslims, according to a Gallup poll. "Muslims," a blogger wrote on the Web site Free Republic, "don't belong in America." In a lively, funny, and revealing riposte to these sentiments, journalist Jonathan Curiel offers a fascinating tour through the little-known Islamic past, and present, of American culture. From highbrow to pop, from lighthearted to profound, Al' America reveals the Islamic and Arab influences before our eyes, under our noses, and ringing in our ears. Curiel demonstrates that many of America's most celebrated places--including the Alamo in San Antonio, the French Quarter of New Orleans, and the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina--retain vestiges of Arab and Islamic culture. Likewise, some of America's most recognizable music--the Delta Blues, the surf sounds of Dick Dale, the rock and psychedelia of Jim Morrison and the Doors--is indebted to Arab music. And some of America's leading historical figures, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Elvis Presley, relied on Arab or Muslim culture for intellectual sustenance. Part travelogue, part cultural history, Al' America confirms a continuous pattern of give-and-take between America and the Arab Muslim world.
Whitewashed by
Middle Easterners: Sometimes White, Sometimes Not - an article by John Tehranian The Middle Eastern question lies at the heart of the most pressing issues of our time: the war in Iraq and on terrorism, the growing tension between preservation of our national security and protection of our civil rights, and the debate over immigration, assimilation, and our national identity. Yet paradoxically, little attention is focused on our domestic Middle Eastern population and its place in American society. Unlike many other racial minorities in our country, Middle Eastern Americans have faced rising, rather than diminishing, degrees of discrimination over time; a fact highlighted by recent targeted immigration policies, racial profiling, a war on terrorism with a decided racialist bent, and growing rates of job discrimination and hate crime. Oddly enough, however, Middle Eastern Americans are not even considered a minority in official government data. Instead, they are deemed white by law. In Whitewashed, John Tehranian combines his own personal experiences as an Iranian American with an expert's analysis of current events, legal trends, and critical theory to analyze this bizarre Catch-22 of Middle Eastern racial classification. He explains how American constructions of Middle Eastern racial identity have changed over the last two centuries, paying particular attention to the shift in perceptions of the Middle Easterner from friendly foreigner to enemy alien, a trend accelerated by the tragic events of 9/11. Focusing on the contemporary immigration debate, the war on terrorism, media portrayals of Middle Easterners, and the processes of creating racial stereotypes, Tehranian argues that, despite its many successes, the modern civil rights movement has not done enough to protect the liberties of Middle Eastern Americans. By following how concepts of whiteness have transformed over time, Whitewashed forces readers to rethink and question some of their most deeply held assumptions about race in American society.
How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? by
"Bayoumi offers a revealing portrait of life for people who are often scrutinized but seldom heard from." --Booklist (starred review) "Wholly intelligent and sensitively-drawn, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? is an important investigation into the hearts and minds of young Arab-Americans. This significant and eminently readable work breaks through preconceptions and delivers a fresh take on a unique and vital community. Moustafa Bayoumi's voice is refreshingly frank, personable, and true." --Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Origin, Crescent, and The Language of Baklava An eye-opening look at how young Arab- and Muslim-Americans are forging lives for themselves in a country that often mistakes them for the enemy Just over a century ago , W.E.B. Du Bois posed a probing question in his classic The Souls of Black Folk: How does it feel to be a problem? Now, Moustafa Bayoumi asks the same about America's new "problem"-Arab- and Muslim-Americans. Bayoumi takes readers into the lives of seven twenty-somethings living in Brooklyn, home to the largest Arab-American population in the United States. He moves beyond stereotypes and clichés to reveal their often unseen struggles, from being subjected to government surveillance to the indignities of workplace discrimination. Through it all, these young men and women persevere through triumphs and setbacks as they help weave the tapestry of a new society that is, at its heart, purely American.
Arab America by
Arab Americans are one of the most misunderstood segments of the U.S. population, especially after the events of 9/11. In Arab America, Nadine Naber tells the stories of second generation Arab American young adults living in the San Francisco Bay Area, most of whom are political activists engaged in two culturalist movements that draw on the conditions of diaspora, a Muslim global justice and a Leftist Arab movement. Writing from a transnational feminist perspective, Naber reveals the complex and at times contradictory cultural and political processes through which Arabness is forged in the contemporary United States, and explores the apparently intra-communal cultural concepts of religion, family, gender, and sexuality as the battleground on which Arab American young adults and the looming world of America all wrangle. As this struggle continues, these young adults reject Orientalist thought, producing counter-narratives that open up new possibilities for transcending the limitations of Orientalist, imperialist, and conventional nationalist articulations of self, possibilities that ground concepts of religion, family, gender, and sexuality in some of the most urgent issues of our times: immigration politics, racial justice struggles, and U.S. militarism and war. For more, check out the author-run Facebook page for Arab America.
Arab-American Faces and Voices: The Origins of an Immigrant Community by
"This book reminds readers that Arab Americans are as American as the pita bread, hummus, and baklawa that they introduced to the American diet. But it also reminds us that the challenge of integration and acceptance is far from over. Much remains to be done, and this book charts the way through the stories and testimonials of those among America's proudest citizens." --Anouar Majid, Journal of American History
Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists by
The rich history and culture of the Arab American people is found in the passionate works of its artists. ... The pieces represent the beauty of heritage, the struggles of growing up in war-torn countries, the identity conflicts of female artists in male-dominated societies, and the issues surrounding migration to a Western culture very different from one's own. Interviews conducted by the author provide a personal look into their experiences and creative processes .
Modern Arab American Fiction by 
Inclined to Speak: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Poetry by
Gathers together 160 poems from 39 contemporary Arab American poets. This book engages themes such as culture, politics, loss, art and language. It challenges us to reconsider what it means to be American. It includes an introduction about the state of Arab American poetry, short biographies of the poets and a list of further readings.
The Arabs: Who They Are, Who They Are Not
"Bill Moyers and several prominent experts of Arab descent explore how the image of Arabs as religious fanatics was formed. Edward Said, professor of English at Columbia University, discusses the richness, diversity, and distinguished history of the Arab culture. Former United States Senator James Abourezk, and Jack Shaheen, author of The TV Arab, discuss the dehumanization of Arabs in the American media."
"Arab Americans trace their roots to 22 countries in Africa and Asia that share a common language and heritage. There are of many religions. The majority of Arab Americans are Christian -- Eastern Orthodox (e.g., Greek Catholic, Maronite, Coptic, Assyrian, and Chaldean), Roman Catholic and Protestant, but Muslims are the fastest growing segment of the community. The majority of Arab Americans are native-born Americans, and 82 percent are U.S. citizens" (Allied Media Corp., 2009).
"Arab Americans are defined as those who immigrated from or are descendants of immigrants who came from the predominantly Arabic-speaking nations in Southwest Asia and North Africa. This includes people from the 22 contemporary nations that make up the Arab League: Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza), Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti and the Comoros Islands.
The vast majority of the early Arab immigrants [in the late 1880s] were Christian.
The term Middle Eastern Americans refers to immigrants and their native-born descendants who trace their ancestry to the Middle East and North Africa. In other words, they come from the 22 countries that form the Arab League, and the non-Arab countries: Iran, Israel, and Turkey. Additionally, there are minority populations (both ethnic and religious) from these nation states who are also Middle Eastern Americans. These include Armenians, Assyrians, Baha’is, Chaldeans, Copts, Druze and Kurds. While the U.S. government does not recognize Middle Eastern Americans as an official minority group, we still need to acknowledge their presence because of their contributions to American society and economy – and, ironically, the relatively high level of discrimination they have endured in this country.
The immigrants from the Middle East are a very diverse group. The United States Census identifies all persons of Middle Eastern ancestry as “white”, thus denying them official recognition as a separate ethnic group. Within the Middle Eastern category many people identify themselves more in terms of their national origin (Syrian, Lebanese, and Iranian) or ethno-religious origin (Armenian, Assyrian, Baha’i, Druze) rather than in terms of the larger Middle East region."
[The Middle Eastern American Experience: The Early Years. Lesson 1. Middle Eastern Americans Then and Now. Middle Eastern American Resources Online. 2009.]
Use the e-resources / databases under Research to find articles.
(1) Arab Studies Quarterly
Use these databases to find full-text articles in this publication:
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