Arab American Heritage Month

April is Arab American Heritage Month! During this time, we celebrate Arab Americans throughout the past and present, and recognize their invaluable contributions to our country. It also serves as a time to combat Anti-Arab bigotry and to challenge stereotypes and prejudices.

Arab American Heritage Month began as a 2017 initiative that only involved a few states and cities, but recognition has been steadily spreading since then. While it is still not officially federally recognized with permanent legislation, President Biden became the first U.S. president to issue a proclamation acknowledging Arab American Heritage Month in April 2021. Last year, he was joined by the U.S. Congress, Department of State, 45 state governors, and many mayors and city governments across the country, including both New York City and New York State, all issuing proclamations of their own.

While the celebration of Arab American Heritage Month is fairly new, the history which it commemorates dates back as far as 1527, when Estebanico Azemmouri, a native of present-day Morocco, and Antonio Bishallany, a native of present-day Lebanon, arrived to what would many years later become the United States, becoming the first members of the Arab American community that is estimated today to number approximately 3.7 million people.

Since those very early days, there have been several waves of Arab immigration into the United States. In the 1800s, the first group consisted mainly of Arab Christians fleeing religious persecution and economic insecurity in the Ottoman Empire, from the region that today makes up Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine. This period came to an end in the 1920s, largely due to immigration policies that placed strict quotas on the number of people who could come into the United States from many Asian and Arab countries located within a region called the “Asiatic Barred Zone.” Later, as political instability in the region increased throughout the mid-20th century, another wave of immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa began arriving in search of both humanitarian protection, as well as economic and educational opportunities and family reunification. The third period began with new immigration laws that repealed the restrictive quotas in 1965 and allowed hundreds of thousands of new immigrants to come into the United States. A fourth wave that began in the 1990s continues today, even after the rise of Anti-Arab sentiment that occurred in the United States following the September 11 attacks, as well as immigration policy changes in 2017 that made it more challenging for Arab immigrants to enter the United States. A fourth wave that began in the 1990s continues today, even after the rise of anti-Arab sentiment due to the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as immigration policy changes in 2017 that made it more difficult for many Arab immigrants to come to the U.S.

New York City has a rich Arab American history in its own right: when the first major wave of Arab immigrants began fleeing the Ottoman Empire (what is now Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine) in the late 1800s, many of them arrived in New York. In fact, from the 1870s until the 1940s, the center of Arab life in the United States could be found in “Little Syria,” a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan concentrated on Washington Street and Rector Street. By the year 1900, nearly 2,000 Syrians were living there, working in nearby textile factories and as merchants. It was also in Little Syria that some of the best-known Arab writers of the time, including Kahlil Gibran, formed the Pen Bond (also known as the Pen League) and sparked a literary movement in Arab literature. Unfortunately, the neighborhood of Little Syria had all but disappeared by the mid-20th century. Plans for construction of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in the 1940s forced many residents to leave the area, often relocating to Brooklyn. Those that remained were not able to stay for long: the construction of the World Trade Center in the 1960s pushed the rest of the community out of their homes.

Events and Exhibitions

• The Arab American National Museum is located in Dearborn, Michigan, but you can access their virtual tours from home! There are resources related to their core galleries along with supplemental materials for educators. Galleries include Contributions from the Arab World, Coming to America, Living in America, and Making an Impact.
• 1001 Inventions partnered with Google Classroom to provide digital access to interactive stories about lesser-known pioneer men and women, primarily from the Arab world, to help spark young people’s interest in science while promoting diversity and inclusion in their online exhibitions.
• Visit one St. George's Syrian Catholic Church, one of the few remaining buildings that made up “Little Syria.” It was originally built in 1812, and by 1850 was used as a boarding house for Syrian immigrants arriving in New York City at the time. For more about what remains of Little Syria, check out “What’s Left of New York’s Little Syria: A Short but Rich Tour.”
• For more, Arab America shares upcoming events throughout the year that are happening near you .

Many of these books are readily available through the citywide Digital Library on Sora, which provides free access to hundreds of digital e-books and audiobooks for our students. For even more recommendations, check out the “Cultural Connections” collection on Sora, which features many Arab stories, and will introduce students to titles with diverse characters and world religions set in the Transcontinental Region, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and beyond.

Video and Audio Resources

• PBS has a large collection of documentaries that they recommend for Arab American Heritage Month; view their collections from 2021 and 2022, and then check out PBS Thirteen for more videos with a local focus on New York Arab American History.
• From 1001 inventions, learn more about the influence that the Arabic language has had on other languages around the world.
• Learn more about the lost neighborhood of Little Syria, where immigrants once lived in Lower Manhattan; check out video episodes from Now This and Al Jazeera, as well as the Bowery Boys Podcast episodes which tell this important local story.
• The award-winning See Something, Say Something Podcast covers the social, cultural, and political experiences of American Muslims
• Arts and music play a huge role in Arab culture; learn more about How Arabs Have Influenced American Music with a video from Now This, or watch a lecture from the Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning titled Understanding Arabic Music with Simon Shaheen & Qantara.

Resources for Educators

• Check out the 2023 National Arab American Heritage Month Educators Guide from Arab America, which provides additional helpful context and resources for teachers.
• The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan has a wide range of educator resources, including a collection of lesson plans for all grade levels, and access to their digital collections.
  • The museum has also put together a helpful resource about the history of the Arab American community, including information about immigration, culture, and more.
• To learn more about Arab scientists, inventors, and innovators throughout history, check out the 1001 Inventions Education Pack.
• The Teach Mideast Arab American Heritage Month Resource Guide has materials that teach students about the past and present of the Arab American community, including sections on early immigration, music, culture, literature, and media, present-day advocacy, and more. For even more, check out the “Resources and Tools” section of their website.
• The Hidden Voices initiative, which began as a collaboration between the DOE and the Museum of the City of New York, helps NYC students learn about and honor the innumerable people, often “hidden” from the traditional historical record, who have shaped and continue to share our history and identity. The famous Arab American writer Kahlil Gibran is featured in Hidden Voices: Untold Stories of New York City History. Gibran lived in the Little Syria neighborhood of New York City while writing many of his most famous works.
  • For more information about Kahlil Gibran, The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has a lesson plan all about his life and work.
• For teachers looking for more information about how to support their Arab students, particularly during the upcoming month of Ramadan, which overlaps with Arab American Heritage Month this year, check out the NYC DOE’s Instructional Guide about Eid al-Fitr, available to teachers on WeTeach NYC.
• • Additional resources that may be helpful include an interview with an Arab American educator on the subject, as well as another resource guide for teachers from PBS called “Promoting and Understanding Islam” that provides further information.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art has an educator guide to use in their gallery, the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia, in order to help students learn more about the history of Arab art and especially to dive deep on what is on display from their collections.
• Check out the National Endowment for the Humanities Virtual Bookshelf for Arab American Heritage Month.
• Learning for Justice has collected resources for Arab American Heritage Month which celebrate Arab identity, counter negative stereotypes, teach about Arab history and cultures, and ensure an inclusive environment that supports Arab American students this month and throughout the year.
• The Anti-Defamation League has an Arab American Heritage Month Resource Guide for educators, families, and caregivers f with K-12 curricular resources to use in classrooms, schools, and communities