The UA Little Rock community commemorates April as National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM), which the Arab American Foundation first launched in 2017.1 In 2022, President Biden and the U.S. Department of State recognized NAAHM to honor Arab Americans who enrich American culture and society with their unique contributions and talents across disciplines.2
You may be familiar with Arab American trailblazers in art, science, medicine, literature, and politics. For example, American actress Salma Hayek, supermodel Gigi Hadid, and singer Paula Abdul trace their roots to their Arab Heritage.3 Pediatrician and Professor Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, an Iraqi American, blew the whistle on the Flint water crisis.3 An American-Egyptian geologist, Dr. Farouk el-Baz, helped plan the Apollo moon landings and pioneered space photography.3 The Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran is known for his most famous work, The Prophet, one of the most translated books in history and one of the best-selling books of all time.4 These are among the few who represent the contributions of Arab Americans, who range in diversity in nationalities, religions, and racial origins.
The ethnic group unites multiple nations (including Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and others) that speak the primary language, Arabic (among other languages). Although Arabs are generally considered Muslim, Christianity is the second largest religion in the region, with Lebanon having the greatest Christian population (33%).5 Although Arabs are Muslims by the majority, they comprise less than 15% of the world’s Muslim population.6
The Arab American Institute estimates 3.7 million Americans with Arab origins that span 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). However, until 1952 early Arab immigrants identified as White to secure a path toward American citizenship that otherwise would not have been available to them as non-Whites.7 The US census continues to categorize people with MENA origins as White, although Arabs tend to associate their lived experience more closely with people of color.7 This leads to the invisibility of Arab Americans and a lack of understanding of their health and educational needs, which may be contributing to systemic inequities. Rashida Tlaib, the first American Palestinian Muslim Woman in Congress, calls on the US Census Bureau to include MENA as a response category to begin to identify the unique needs of Arab Americans.8
At UA Little Rock, we ask you to join us in celebrating our faculty, students, and staff who enrich our campus with their heritage and culture and honor their presence in American history.
Special thanks for helping crafting this message:
Ronia Kattoum
Advanced Instructor of Chemistry/Freshman Programs Coordinator
PhD Candidate in Applied Science: Chemistry
UA Little Rock