A message from our co-president, Nadia Rahman:
As Arab American Heritage Month comes to a close on April 30, 2022, SFWPC would like to acknowledge the rich history and cultural and societal contributions made by Arab Americans to San Francisco and California at large. Arab Americans trace their origins to 22 Arabic-speaking countries in West Asia and North Africa.
The U.S. is home to 3.5 million Arab Americans and California has the largest Arab American population of any state in the country (~715K+ Arab American residents). 2021 was the first year that the U.S. State Department observed Arab American Heritage Month in April, and this year was the first time that an American President celebrated the observance.
Despite the rich cultural and societal contributions of Arab Americans dating back to the revolutionary war, the Arab American community in the U.S. has historically been marginalized and vilified, most recently in the 9/11 era. This vilification has continued into our present day with profiling, hate crimes and bigotry, and ongoing surveillance programs which violate Arab American civil liberties.
Additionally, accurate community counts and resources for Arab Americans are diluted because the U.S. census designates Arabs as ‘white.’ Lumping Arab Americans of Middle Eastern and North American origin into the ‘white’ category serves as a type of whitewashing and erasure of their identity, minimizing the community’s impact, importance and representation.
Finally, further erasure and marginalization of the Arab American community’s contributions to the U.S. and its history has impacted the Ethnic Studies curriculum taught here in California’s public schools. In 2021, the State Board of Education (SBE) made the decision to remove the Arab-American section of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) because of its references to Palestinian history and narratives.
Understanding what a community has been through and the challenges they currently face is as important as understanding the significance of that community’s contributions. As Arab American Heritage Month comes to a close, we hope that you learn more about the Arab American community here in San Francisco and in California and take action to ensure the community is fairly counted, resourced, represented and included in the history the children of our state learn.
What You Can Do:
As Heritage months cycle around every year, there are a great number of things you can do to support these diverse communities:
- Celebrate Local Communities by Supporting Local Businesses:
- Celebrate Arab American Heritage Month by supporting one of San Francisco’s many Arab American owned small businesses. A short list includes: Beit Rima, SF Hole in the Wall Pizza, Sunrise Deli, Old Jerusalem, Grand Coffee, Reem’s California, Philz Coffee, Ted’s Market and Deli, Marrakech
- San Francisco is overflowing with Asian cuisine. Next time you dine out, consider if the restaurants you are visiting are AAPI owned. Do The Bay has a comprehensive list of AAPI-owned businesses including local favorites like Burma Superstar, Boba Guys, Queens SF, and Shanghai Dumpling King
- Learn About the Diverse Histories and Experiences of Local Populations: For example, research the challenges the Arab American community faces in the U.S. and in California by learning more about the issues we have outlined above.
- Advocate for Arab American representation in San Francisco’s city commissions, on local boards, and in elected leadership and their staff.
- Take Action: Find local groups that advocate on behalf of local groups.
- Visit the websites for Arab American Institute and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
- You can also visit Stop AAPI Hate to donate, educate yourself, or report an incident of AAPI hate.
- Support with Money and Resources: For example: Support the work of the Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC) which offers language access, legal services, case management and organizes for immigrant rights.
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