By: Yara Marei / Arab America Contributing Writer As the sun rose over Amman, the usually busy streets felt quieter, as if reflecting the tension in the air. In the palace, King Abdullah II reviewed the latest news from Gaza, where the war threatened lives and the peace that Jordan has long worked to protect. … Continued
By: Yara Marei / Arab America Contributing Writer In the heart of the Levant, people once thrived on hearty grains like freekeh and burghul, staples that filled their plates and their lives with nourishment. These wholesome foods weren’t just ingredients; they were the foundation of a lifestyle that celebrated health and vitality, allowing families to … Continued
Source: Wikimedia Commons. This picture shows the logo of the Royal Standard of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
By: Yara Marei / Arab America Contributing Writer In Jordanian and Palestinian culture, mansaf is more than just a dish; it is a symbol of heritage, hospitality, and communal values. This traditional meal, steeped in history and cultural significance, brings people together to share not just food but a sense of identity and belonging. Mansaf’s … Continued
By: Yara Marei / Arab America Contributing Writer Imagine a band that takes the ordinary, lights it on fire, and from the ashes creates something extraordinary. This is Harget Kart—a name that, in the Arabic Jordanian dialect, means “to burn a photo card.” Just as their name suggests, Harget Kart has set the conventional boundaries … Continued
By: Yara Marei / Arab America Contributing Writer In a world where we often take knowledge for granted, seldom questioning the foundations of what we believe to be true, Hani Al-Najjar’s book Those Who Hide the Sun challenges us to rethink everything we think we know. This book is not merely a call to question … Continued
By: Yara Marei / Arab America Contributing Writer Food has a unique way of bringing people together, and celebrating it will make you enjoy your meal and feel grateful to receive grandma’s recipes generation after generation. So can you imagine that this great moment of grace and pleasure can be easily stolen, just like the … Continued
The Biden administration has approved proposals to introduce new checkboxes, including one for the “Middle Eastern or North African” option under a revamped question about race and ethnicity. Today, the Office of Management and Budget revised Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. This decision … Continued
The Census Bureau released the Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A (Detailed DHC-A) today which, for the first time ever, includes disaggregated data on Arab Americans and other communities from the Middle East or North Africa (MENA). Because of changes made by the Census Bureau for the 2020 Census, the collection and tabulation of data about … Continued
By Dareen Abukwaik / Arab America Contributing Writer What is your race? This is a seemingly harmless question, especially when it comes to the U.S. census and other forms of data collection. But what happens when your identity doesn’t exactly fit into the categories given to you? The day I took my PSAT was the … Continued
Under President Obama, in 2015, a question for the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau survey included identification of a respondent as “Middle Eastern or North African” (MENA). Importantly, MENA as a response would not be aggregated to the much broader ‘White’ category. The Trump administration killed the question. In 2022, some Congress members requested renewal of the MENA category for the 2030 Census. Contributing writer, John Mason reports on pro-Arab sentiment about the importance of the MENA tag, captured, as follows, “It’s like we always say, ‘White without the privilege.’ We’re counted as white, but we’ve never had the privilege that comes with it.”
By: Mariam Alyakoob / Arab America Contributing Writer Americans of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent, who are meant to fill in the White category box in the U.S. Census, have been fighting for decades to include a separate classification. It seems that there may be some progress towards achieving this. The U.S. federal … Continued
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