United Against Anti-Arab American Hate
Arab is an ethno-linguistic category, identifying people who speak the Arabic language as their mother tongue (or, in the case of immigrants, for example, whose parents or grandparents spoke Arabic as their native language). Arabic is a Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. While Arabs speak the same language, there is enormous ethnic diversity among the spoken dialects.
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There are 26 countries or territories in western Asia and Africa where Arabic is the official or one of the official languages of the state.
Anti-Arab American Hate Resources
Arab America: The Illinois Arab American Community
The State of Illinois is home to a large and diverse Arab American community, boasting one of the largest populations of Arab Americans in the United States. Arab Americans in Illinois are represented by many different nationalities with different waves of immigration dating back to the 1880s. Arab migration to the United States and Illinois increased between 1890 and 1921, until overseas migration to the United States was halted by immigration quotas.
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Hate crimes undermine the ideals of an inclusive, democratic society, and devastate individuals and entire communities. Despite being significantly underreported, federal hate crime data demonstrate troubling trends of increased violent offenses and hate crime murders. To combat hate crime, it is critical that public officials and advocates have an accurate picture of what communities are experiencing.
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Arab American Institute: American Attitudes Towards Arabs and Muslims
Since Arab American Institute first began polling on American attitudes toward Arabs and Muslims in 2010, there has been continued erosion in the favorable ratings given to both communities, posing a threat to the rights of Arab Americans and American Muslims. The way forward is clear. Education about and greater exposure to Arab Americans and American Muslims are the keys both to greater understanding of these growing communities of American citizens and to insuring that their rights are secured.
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The Arab American National Museum (AANM) is the first and only museum of its kind in the United States devoted to recording the Arab American experience, serving as a touchstone that connects communities to Arab American culture and experiences. Since opening in 2005, AANM’s goal has been to document, preserve and present the history, culture and contributions of Arab Americans.The AANM Collections Online includes items from the Arab American National Archives and the museum's artifact collection.
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Arab American National Museum: Arab Americans: History, Culture & Contributions
The term "Arab American" refers to anyone living in the United States with ancestry in any of the 22 Arab countries, which stretch from northern Africa to western Asia. Arabs have been immigrating to the United State in large numbers since the 1890s, when Arabic-speaking immigrants from the Syrian province of the Ottoman Empire left their homeland for mainly economic reasons/ The total population of Arab Americans is between 2 million and 3.6 million.
Arab American National Museum: Contributions from the Arab World
The Arab world is often defined by membership in the League of Arab States (also known as The Arab League), which consists of the 22 countries depicted on the map. Most of these countries consider Arabic their national language, although they may have substantial non-Arabic speaking populations. Attachment to the Arabic language is one of the main cultural aspects that Arab Americans share, even if they speak English fluently.
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Arab American National Museum: Lesson Plans
In many instances, lesson plans often don’t share the experiences and educational component of different groups, including Arab Americans. AANM offers a variety of lesson plans for educators to utilize, that educate classrooms about Arab Americans without excluding the story and history of other communities.
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Learning for Justice: A Backlash Against Arab Americans
Learning for Justice seeks to uphold the mission of the Southern Poverty Law Center: to be a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people. This essay excerpt, published in Us and Them: A History of Intolerance in America in 2006, includes discussion questions
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TeachMideast: Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim? What’s the Difference?!
Many Americans have a hard time distinguishing between the terms Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim. Here, TeachMideast breaks down the various terms to help you distinguish between these three categories.