Green River LibGuides: Arab American Studies: Culture, Identity, History, & Language

The Arab American National Museum

Youth Voices

Featured Resources

Culture, Identity, History, and Language

Featured Resources

What Does it Mean to be Arab American?
from OUSD Office of Equity
Arabic Language
Advocating for Arabic
An interview with Lara Kiswani, executive director of AROC, on why Arabic should be taught in schools
Arab Culture in America
Arab Americans: History, Culture, and Contributions
from the Arab American National Museum
The Story of Arab Americans’ Beginning in America – And the Quest for Fair Representation
A 2021 article from the US Department of State Blog, DipNote
Arab Americans: 100 Questions and Answers About Arab Americans
A section from the "Bias Busters: Cultural competence guides" created by the "journalism students and faculty at the Michigan State University School of Journalism"
Faith, Beliefs, and Practices in Arab Christian and Muslim Communities in Plural America

Culture, Identity and Language

Featured Multimedia

Podcast: The Whiteness Myth
from NPR's Throughline, Feb 9, 2023
Video: Bonds of Pride
Being Arab in America
The Arabs: Who They Are, Who They Are Not
Rethinking education and celebrating the Arabic language
TED Talks: Arab Feminism is Not an Oxymoron
2019 talk by Nadine Naber at
TEDxOakParkWomen
Ted Talks: Don't Erase Me - The Modern Arab American
A 2019 talk by Jeremiah Stinnett at TEDxOhioStateUniversity

Culture, Identity, and Language

Organizations

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
The Arab American Historical Foundation (AAHF)
The Arab American Historical Foundation (AAHF) is dedicated to promote research, preservation and dissemination of Arab American history and culture.
Arab American National Museum
The first and only museum in the United States devoted to Arab American history and culture
Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR)
"CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization"
AROC, Arab Resource & Organizing Center
AROC serves poor and working class Arabs and Muslims across the San Francisco Bay Area, while organizing to overturn racism, forced migration, and militarism. Recognizing the diversity of experiences within our community, AROC utilizes a multi-pronged strategy providing a centralized space for social services meeting material needs, developing analysis, creating strategy, and leading grassroots campaigns for systemic changes that make tangible impacts in the lives of working class SWANA communities.
The Arab American Institute
Arab America Foundation
"The Arab America Foundation (AAF) is a non-profit (501c3) educational and cultural organization established in 2019. The mission of AAF is to promote the Arab heritage, educate Americans about the Arab identity, and to empower and connect Arab Americans with each other and with diverse organizations across the U.S."
ACCESS
Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services (ACCESS) is the largest human services non-profit for Arab Americans.

Featured Books & Ebooks - Click to view

Arab American Literature and Culture

Becoming American? The Forging of Arab and Muslim Identity in Pluralist America

ProQuest Ebook Central--click title for access

The Making of Arab Americans: From Syrian Nationalism to U.S. Citizenship

Between the Middle East and the Americas: The Cultural Politics of Diaspora

The House of Wisdom: How Arabic science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave us the Renaissance

Available in print Main Collection

Peace Be Upon You: The Story of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Coexistence

Main Collection

History of Arab Americans: Exploring Diverse Roots

Arab-American Faces and Voices: The Origins of an Immigrant Community

We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance

New Books/ Main Collection

Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People

Main Collection

The Dream Palace of the Arabs

Main collection

Seen and Heard: a Century of Arab Women in Literature and Culture

Main Collection

We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir

Main Collection (Temp. on New Book Shelf)

Featured People

Arab American Figures

Alex Odeh, activist
Ralph Nader, activist
Naomi Shihab Nye, poet/author
Rima Fakih, first Arab American Miss USA
Casey Kasem, radio personality
Dr. Michael DeBakey, surgeon/inventor
Gibran Khalil Gibran, author
Linda Sarsour

Celebrating Pathbreakers for National Arab American Heritage Month
...notable figures from various fields, including entertainment, business, science, academia, and politics, among other areas.

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It aims to showcase the diversity of Arab Americans, representing both men and women, different ancestral countries, and a wide range of professions. Arab America contributing writer, Arwa Almasaari, has compiled the first 75 figures on one page to highlight their achievements for National Arab American Heritage Month.