National Arab American Heritage Month
National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM) celebrates Arab American heritage and culture. It honors the contributions of Arab Americans and Arabic-speaking Americans to the wider American community.
Important Dates:
2017 - The initiative to nationally designate the month was launched and was supported by several states.
2019 - U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan), introduced a resolution to Congress to proclaim April as National Arab American Heritage Month.The bill remains pending.
2021 - President Joe Biden, the U.S. Department of State, several members of Congress, and 37 governors issued proclamations supporting the month.
2022 - The U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of State, and 45 state governors issued proclamations commemorating the initiative. Illinois, Oregon, and Virginia passed permanent legislation designating April as National Arab American Heritage Month, with similar legislation pending in Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island.
Photo by saeed mhmdi on Unsplash
Fast Facts About Arab Americans
| The word "Arab" refers to language and culture, Muslim refers to religion, and Middle Eastern refers to region. Many Arabs are Muslims, but there are also millions of Christian Arabs and thousands of Jewish Arabs. |
| Arab Americans can trace their roots to these Arabic-speaking countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. |
| Arab immigrants began coming to the U.S. in sizable numbers during the 1880’s. Today, it is estimated that nearly 3.7 million Americans trace their roots to an Arab country. |
| Arab Americans are found in every state, but more than two thirds of them live in just ten states: California, Michigan, New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Metropolitan Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York are home to one-third of the population. |
| The majority of Arab Americans are native-born, and nearly 82% of Arabs in the U.S. are citizens. |
Sources: Arab American Institute, TeachMideast