History of Arab American Heritage Month
Beginning in the 1990s, Arab American heritage was celebrated sporadically in various states at different times of the year, primarily in school districts. It wasn't until 2017 when Arab America began a national initiative to coordinate all states under National Arab American Heritage Month. On April 30, 2019, Arab American organizations asked Congresswoman Debbie Dingell to issue a congressional resolution proclaiming National Arab American Heritage Month. It was then introduced to the house on April 30, 2019, and then referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The largest and most promising achievement towards federal recognition of the month of April as the National Arab American Heritage Month was the proclamation published by the US Department of State, which was accomplished on April 1, 2021, by the efforts of independent Syrian-American advocate and author, Pierre Subeh.
An identical bill was introduced in the House on May 1, 2020, to support the designation of an Arab American Heritage Month but it has not currently been passed.
Some individual states (such as the Commonwealth of Virginia) and 26 others observed April as Arab American Heritage Month early on before any federal recognition was proclaimed. It wasn't until April 19, 2021, that the first recognition on a federal level was issued, which was published as a White House letter from President Joe Biden recognizing April as the National Arab American Heritage Month, otherwise called NAAHM.
Read, Watch, Listen
Read
Kids:
Nour's Secret Library by Wafa Tarnowska (Book and Hoopla eBook)
Hope is an Arrow: The Story of Lebanese Poet Khalil Gibran by Cory McCarthy (Book)
Islamophobia: Deal With it in the Name of Peace by Safia Saleh (Book)
Wishing Upon the Same Stars by Jacquetta Nammar Feldman (Book, Hoopla eAudioBook, Hoopla eBook)
Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria by George Jreiji (Book, Hoopla eAudioBook)
Mama in Congress: Rashida Tlaib's Journey to Washington by Rashida Tlaib (Book)
Yasmin the Librarian by Saadia Faruqi (Book, Hoopla eBook, Overdrive eBook)
For more titles for kids, click here!
Teens:
Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine by Ibtisam Barakat (Book)
Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian (Book, Hoopla eBook, Hoopla eAudioBook)
I Remember Beirut by Zeina Abirached (Hoopla eComicBook)
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal (Book)
From Here: A Memoir by Luma Mufleh (Book)
Children of the Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Land by Sandy Tolan (Book)
All-American Muslim Girl by Nadine Jolie Courtney (Book)
For more titles for teens, click here!
Adults:
When We Were Arabs by Hayoun Massoud (Hoopla eBook)
The Girl Who Fell to the Earth by Sophia Al-Maria (Hoopla eBook)
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan (Book, Hoopla eBook, Hoopla eAudioBook)
Love is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar (Book)
The Home That Was Our Country by Alia Malek (Hoopla eBook)
The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine (Book, Hoopla eBook)
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber (Hoopla eAudioBook)
For more titles for adults, click here!
Watch
Mr. Robot (DVD)
The Marvels (DVD)
Bohemian Rhapsody (DVD, Blu-Ray)
The Squad: Changing the World (DVD)
Detroit Unleaded (DVD)
Amreeka (DVD)
Why is We Americans? (Hoopla)
Listen
Don't Erase Me: The Modern Arab American (YouTube)
Arab: How You See Me (YouTube)
How Arabs Have Influenced American Music (YouTube)
Hidden Brain (Podcast)
Discovering Disabilities in Dearborn (YouTube)
Shakira: MTV Unplugged (CD)
Apostrophe/Overnight Sensation by Frank Zappa (CD)
DJ Khaled (CDs)
Places to Visit
Little Arabia Anaheim - Map of Participating Businesses
Arab American Community Center
907 S Beach Blvd, Anaheim CA
House of Lebanon Cultural Center
4800 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90010
323-965-8000
House of Egypt Cultural Center
5850 Avalon Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90003
323-232-6880
Islamic Center of Southern California
434 Vermont Ave, Los Angeles CA 90020
10980 Washington Blvd, Culver City CA 90232