Arab American Heritage Month
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell & Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, with the help of several Arab American organizing groups, issued a resolution proclaiming April to be National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM) in 2017. The state of Illinois designated April as Arab American Heritage Month (AAHM) in 2018 and the Department of State recognized it nationally in 2021. During April, Arabs and Arab Americans are honored and celebrated for their historical contributions, culture, traditions, history, arts, and overall social presence as a community in the United States.
Elementary School Educational Outreach Program
What We offer:
UIC ArabAmCC Staff and Students will join your school to share our Arab American Heritage exhibition and presentation. This will include:
- Artifacts, clothing and accessories, books, children’s books, crafts, woodwork, traditional games, textiles, art, kitchenware
- Interactive presentation with images, historical information, maps, videos, music
- Activities: folkdance, writing in Arabic, music, crafts-making, storytelling
- Other possibilities could include inviting artists for specific demonstrations (music, calligraphy, dance, etc..) [which may require additional funds].
We are happy to work with you to figure out a format that works best for your school. Some suggestions include setting up in a large space (auditorium or gym) where different grade levels join us for a set period of time; moving from one class to another; large lecture hall with the whole school.
Why It’s Needed
We aim to inspire Arab-positive experiences and advance unbiased concepts about Arab Americans and, more broadly, people from the Arab World/ Middle East and North Africa. There is a long history of negative representation of Arabs, Muslims, and Middle Easterners in U.S. media and popular culture. These ideas influence how Americans interact with one another and inform institutional and interpersonal racist practices and beliefs. Education is an important strategy to address racism and implicit biases to help create a more just and inclusive society.
- The ArabAmCC will make the Arab and Middle Eastern, and North African cultures more accessible and better understood for students of diverse backgrounds.
- This project will assist educators in acknowledging and embracing the diversity their classrooms offer.
- It will highlight the rich diversity of the Arab/Middle East and North African region and community, countering negative stereotypes.
- It will enable students of these backgrounds to feel honored and respected by their school and classmates.
Arab American Heritage Month April 2025 Programming
The Arab American Cultural Center is partnering with a diversity of institutions at UIC and outside to celebrate and educate about Arab American history, culture, diversity, joys, pains, and identities.
For details for specific events at UIC, please check our Upcoming Events page and our Social Media pages.
Arab American Heritage Month Partnerships
Resources
Arab Americans: History, Culture, and Contributions
Written by acclaimed author and researcher Randa Kayyali with the Arab American National Museum, this introductory-level, 52-page book offers an overview of Arab American immigration history, including the recent influx of immigrants, and touches on the themes of religion, cultural traditions and the impact of media stereotyping. It includes graphs, maps and historical images of the Arab American community, many never before published.
Hikayat Stories
To honor Arab American heritage, Alif Institute and the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) launched a year-long partnership with StoryCorps to provide a platform to share Arab American stories. “Hikayat: Arab American Stories” is an initiative to preserve narratives from our community, allowing us to reflect on our shared humanity, and celebrate our resiliency in the face of adversity.
Arab American Heritage Resource Guide
The Arab Resource and Organizing Center in the Bay Area, CA produced an Arab American Heritage Guide. This guide is intended for educators, school administrators, and staff, but includes many K-12 appropriate resources for students and parents to utilize themselves. The guide highlights Arab youth in their own words speaking on their experiences and struggles growing up in Bay Area public schools. This guide provides an opportunity for school districts to address critical issues of representation and education equity. Additionally, this guide aims to combat Islamophobia and anti-Arab racism through its engagement within entire school districts.
Palestine Resource Guide
The Palestinian Feminist Collective Produced this Resource Toolkit on Palestine to support education and organizing in the US.
Arab American Digital Scrapbooks
Family stories created in the Community History Studio at the Arab American National Museum (http://aanmcuratorial.wordpress.com/family-story-project). Participants can use the studio to scan copies of photos and documents, record audio, and combine their words and images in a digital scrapbook
Arab American Stories
Arab American Stories is a 13-part series presented by Detroit Public Television that explores the diversity of the Arab-American experience. Hosted by NPR’s Neda Ulaby, each half-hour features three short, character-driven documentaries produced by a variety of independent filmmakers which profile Arab Americans making an impact in their community, their profession, their family or the world at large.
Smithsonian Arab American Heritage Month Spotlight
Stories of Key Arab Americans who contributed to US society. Archival collection of Dr. Alexa Naff who set out to tell the story of Arab American immigrants from Syria and Lebanon.
Reading Lists for All Ages
- Social Justice Book: Arab and Arab America
- Pragmatic Mom’s: Book List for Kids About the Arab World
- Pragmatic Mom’s: Arab American Culture in Children’s Books
- A Crafty Arab’s: 20+Arab World Palestine Children’s Books
- We Need Diverse Books: Arab American Kidlit Authors on the Diversity of Arab America
- Moraine Valley Community College’s: Arab Heritage Month Curated Collection
Videos We Value
- Why We Need Arab American Heritage Month, by Now This
- Don’t Erase Me: The Modern Arab American, By Jeremiah Stinnett
- First Writing Since, By Suheir Hammad
- Arab: How You See Me, by Participant
- Arab Feminism is Not an Oxymoron, by Nadine Naber
- Orientalism Explained, by TNT
- Patching Holes in the Collection: An Exploration of Palestinian Textiles, by the British Museum
- Arab American Visibility, Power, and the 2020 Census, by Census Counts
Podcasts We Recommend
- Kerning Cultures, (“this American Life of the Middle East”)
- Stories from Palestine, by Kristel
- Voices of the Middle East and North Africa, by Malihe and Mira
- Afikra podcast: exploring the arab world’s histories and cultures
- The Queer Arabs Podcast
Arab American National Museum
The Arab American National Museum (AANM) is the first and only museum of its kind in the United States devoted to recording the Arab American experience. It serves as a touchstone that connects communities to Arab American culture and experiences. Since opening in 2005, AANM’s goal has been to document, preserve and present the history, culture and contributions of Arab Americans. Our exhibitions cover the Arab world and the history of Arab Americans from the first immigrants who arrived in the late 19th century to today. AANM has one of the most extensive archives of Arab American historical documents, oral histories and artifacts. We are the only museum in the country that actively collects Arab American art. The Annex @ AANM, a multi-purpose space and a symbol of the Museum’s growing engagement with the community, opened in 2015.
Palestine Museum
Palestine Museum US was founded by Palestinian American businessman Faisal Saleh who, after over 40 years of entrepreneurial work, is turning his attention to managing the most ambitious Palestinian media project in the United States. Located in Woodbridge, Connecticut, USA, the museum opened its doors on April 22, 2018.
Karama: Arab and Islamic World Information Project
KARAMA is an independent, non-partisan organization seeking to promote understanding of the issues facing the Arab and Islamic world, and of the Palestinian issue in particular. KARAMA’s vision is that a fresh understanding of the hopes and aspirations of the area’s people will replace the stereotypes and distortions that dominate public discourse on the region. We are involved in several projects to help realize this vision.