Arab American Activist Don Unis Dies, Remembered as Trailblazer
SOURCE: DETROIT PRESS
BY: ALEANNA SIACON
Donald Unis, an indomitable figure and fervent activist for the Arab American community, died Saturday afternoon at the Henry Ford Village Rehabilitation Facility on Ford Road in Dearborn after battling with a deteriorating heart condition.
He was 79 years old.
“I would say one of his finest attributes was his sense of diversity, that we are all supposed to be equal,” said his nephew Ron Amen, 73, of Dearborn. “That was one of the things that Don strove for his whole adult life. You could walk down our block and every house was using a different language.”
Born Jan. 19, 1939, to Sam Unis and Zainab Tyranni Abraham, Unis grew up in the southeast corner of Dearborn in the shadow of the Ford Rouge Plant, an area whose diversity left an indelible impression on the Lebanese-American activist, Amen said.
Unis’ grandparents immigrated to the United States from Lebanon near the turn of the 19th century.
Lauded by his peers for his tireless work ethic, Unis’s life was shaped by his love for community and dedication to service.
The son of a World War II veteran, Unis served in the U.S. Army in 1957 and was stationed in Germany. He returned home, and became a founding member of both the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) and the Arab American Political Action Committee.
Unis also served as a captain in the Dearborn Fire Department until his retirement.
Yet, throughout his life and many roles, Unis never relented on his commitment to advocating for Arab American families and children.
One of Unis’s proudest accomplishments was the founding of ACCESS in response to the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Amen said.
“That was the impetus to do something. We put together a committee of fellow activists, went around metro Detroit trying to recruit fellow Arabs to take a stand, and they did,” Amen said.
As a surge of refugees from the Middle East arrived in Dearborn, ACCESS continued to assist those who needed help with language skills and housing. Thus, Amen said the tiny office grew into the massive multi-branch agency it is today.
Osama Siblani, publisher of the Arab American News, told the Free Press that Unis was one of the first people to come forward to support his community paper.
Siblani called Unis “a fighter for the Arab American community” and a “true servant of the people.”
A tireless ACCESS volunteer when they first met in 1985, Unis worked to help underserved people in their community get social services and Social Security, Siblani said. He would help them fill out applications and figure out how to pay their bills.
“He will be remembered as a hero in our community, a leader that worked for the people,” Silbani. “They called him a lightning rod… He was the light of our community, (and) we will always remember him as such.”
Speaking to a reporter from the New York Times after the tragedy of 9/11 in 2001, Unis spoke proudly about the duality of his identity.
”When do I become an American?” Unis, whose grandfather came to the U.S. from Lebanon in 1896, asked. “‘I don’t want my kids to live the life I’ve had to lead, always apologizing for who I am. I can either be an American or I can be an Arab, but I can’t be both. You know what? I am both.”
In a 1990 submission published in the Detroit Free Press titled, “Don Unis Message to Youth: I Work Hard; So Why Am I a Problem,” Unis wrote about rising up against challenges and having pride in one’s heritage.
“We are telling young Arab children, hey, don’t be ashamed, no matter what you see in the media, of your Arabness. Don’t be ashamed of the fact that you’re a Muslim, that you believe in God. Look at your history and your people; they taught the world how to read and write, chemistry, science. You have a history second to none. Be proud of it,” he wrote.
“Don’t let them hate you for what you are. Like yourself for what you are.”
One of the greatest feelings Unis wrote that he ever had, was putting up wallpaper at the ACCESS offices in 1989, and looking over to see a Yemeni-American boy, who recognized him as “Captain Unis.”
“(The boy) said, ‘My daddy told me all about you. When I grow up I want to be just like you.’ Honest to God. I got goosebumps. Of all the things we’ve done for the community, that moment was worth all of that.”
Visiting him in early November, Siblani shared the following video message from Unis to the Arab American community.
“I just want to say to everybody, our time has come,” Unis said.
“Arab Americans make the best citizens. Thank you, and what a dynamic people you are. I am proud to be one of you… I love every one of you.”
Siblani lauded Unis as a trailblazer, who was proud of his people, but did not look for the spotlight for himself.
“He was very proud of his culture and his heritage, but also believed in America and the American dream,” Siblani said. “He was also very passionate about the involvement of Arab Americans in politics.”
Amen called his uncle a very gregarious man who loved political debates.
When Abed Hammoud began organizing a team to found the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) in 1998, Unis quickly stepped up to become a founding member.
“Don is the history of everything” Hammoud said. “The excitement in his eyes… his eyes lit up, like it’s about time, I’ve been waiting for this.”
Hammoud called Unis fearless and tireless, despite one of the older members of AAPAC at the time, he said Unis was always the first to arrive, the last to leave and the first to speak up to remind the group of the context of things.
On long days, Hammoud said when he would be feeling tired, he would look to Unis.
“He would make you want to do more work, give you the courage and the energy to continue going… endless energy and endless courage,” he said. “There was nothing that scared him.”
Hammoud said an area where Unis made a big impact was on Dearborn schools and education, even before AAPAC, he said Unis was an advocate for bilingual education.
Unis also strongly backed the passing of a $150 million bond issue in 2002 to build schools in the city, the Free Press reported in 2004.
“I call him an icon,” Unis said.
Hammoud said the least they could do to honor Unis was for AAPAC to join with the Arab American News to lobby the Dearborn Public Schools Board to name a building after him.
But the decision was contentious, Hammoud, who served on the citizen’s committee, said it took months of debate — as some school board members preferred naming a K-8 school after the late Lucille McCollough who served as a state representative.
Ultimately, board member Aimee Blackburn proposed a compromise, and the board agreed to name the elementary portion of a school building after McCoullough and the middle school after Unis.
Making the Unis Middle School (part of the McCollough-Unis School) on Maple Street the first in Dearborn named after an Arab American.
“It was a fight to name it after Don… it’s all because Don never fell in line,” Hammoud said, adding that Unis was “not an establishment guy.”
“(He) always wanted to do the right thing… to me, he’s a model and I hope I’ll do the same things he did.”
Unis is survived by his wife, Nancy, his daughters Lisa, Julie, Tamara, his son Derek, his twin brother Ron, his sister Wanda, several grandchildren, plus dozens of nieces and nephews.
A public viewing will be held at the Santieu Funeral Home on Monday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., a burial service will begin at the home 11 a.m. on Tuesday. Unis will be interred at St. Hedwig Cemetery on Ford Road in Dearborn Heights.
Contact Aleanna Siacon at ASiacon@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AleannaSiacon.