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Arab-Americans

Arab-Americans. Samantha Lombard Katerina Pappas Anna Massefski. When did the first wave of Arabs come to the US? Why did they come?. 1857 – 1920 Left behind food shortages, stagnant economies, as well as political and religious repression – Ottoman Empire

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Arab-Americans

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  1. Arab-Americans Samantha Lombard Katerina Pappas Anna Massefski

  2. When did the first wave of Arabs come to the US? Why did they come? • 1857 – 1920 • Left behind food shortages, stagnant economies, as well as political and religious repression – Ottoman Empire • Attracted to educational opportunities; colleges and universities

  3. Where did they go? • Birmingham, Alabama • Boston, Massachusetts • Brooklyn, New York • Detroit, Michigan • Jacksonville, Florida

  4. What type of work did the Arab-Americans do upon coming to the US? • Stitchers, cutters, pressers • Avoided factory working and instead opened up neighborhood retail stores, grocery stores, confectionary shops, bakeries, coffee houses, and dry goods stores

  5. What were the differences in Arab immigration from 1920-1960? • The first wave in 1920economic competition from Japan forced poor, uneducated Arabs to come to the US • During early 1900s, 95,000 Greater Syrians came • By 1924, about 200,000 Arabs had immigrated • Then the US passed anti-immigration laws • The stream of immigrants slowed

  6. What were the differences in Arab immigration from 1920-1960? cont. • When the Immigration Act was repealed in 1940, the numbers increased • The second wave was mainly students seeking to avoid the conflicts in the Middle East • More financially secure than the first wave • More Muslims

  7. What was the Eugenics attitude toward Arabs? • The 1924 Immigration Act limited the number of immigrants from the Middle East to 400 a year • Over 50,000 German immigrants were coming in at this point • Indicates that Eugenics disliked Arabs • Joseph Howar, an Arab immigrant, was told by fellow passengers to change his name before reaching America

  8. “No immigration officer,” they told him, “would allow a Muslim to enter the United States.”

  9. What was the social reception for Arab immigrants? • Immigrants came over uneducated, not knowing English or America’s customs • There were no consuls to help them • Many became peddlers (travelling salesmen) • People trying to end immigration succeeded in slowing down immigration • They claimed that Arabs were:

  10. “Un-American, had cultures that did not fit with American culture, were more likely to be criminal and poor, and did not understand the American political system.”

  11. Can they practice their religion freely? • Official policy is freedom of religion, but since 9/11, and even before, Muslims have had stereotypes and discrimination against them • Americans misunderstand many Muslim customs • Head coverings of women • Some say they denigrate women • The reality is that they are supposed to free them

  12. Can they practice their religion freely? cont. • Muslim children stand out for being different • Islam forbids hanging out at malls and dating, so not doing these normal teenage activities makes Muslims conspicuous • Sticking out in high school is always dangerous, and add the impact of 9/11 to that; Muslim children are sometimes bullied and pressured by their peers

  13. “Most Muslims either accept the restrictions or stop practicing Islam.”

  14. What are examples of institutionalized discrimination? • Airport security racial profiling • Patriot Act Not specifically against Arabs, but ends up being that way • Popular movies, such a Aladdin contain stereotypes and generalizations about Arabs • Sometimes these biases infect schools and teachers, too • Some teachers are openly hostile

  15. “Your people are enemies of the United States.”

  16. Malal Omar remembers: We were both good starters. But we didn’t wear the usual basketball shorts and short sleeves that the other players wore when we played…When we went out on the court, [the coach] said, ‘Come to the sidelines, what are you doing there?’ At first he didn’t play us.”

  17. Where do Arab-Americans primarily live in the US now? • Urban areas • Currently live in all fifty states • 1/3 of Arab-Americans live in California, Michigan, and New York • 1/3 live in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia • Highest populated Arab-American cities are Los Angeles, Detroit, Manhattan, Chicago, and Washington DC

  18. After 9/11 what social challenges did Arab-Americans face? • Many Muslims are afraid of being harassed, hurt, and discriminated against because they share the religion of Islam with terrorist organizations led by Osama bin Laden • 56% of Muslims think most other Muslims want to adopt the American way of life; 33% of the general public agrees • Kicked off airplanes because of how they look • Mosques, places of worship have been vandalized around the world • After hate crimes spiked in the months following 9/11, they’ve dropped by thirty-one percent from 2002 through 2009

  19. Attractions in America -Seeking opportunity, like many groups of people who have immigrated to America First Generation of Arab Immigration: -Japanese competition hurt Lebanese silk market -Widespread disease was negatively affecting Lebanese vineyards Second Generation of Arabs Immigration: -Many were looking for an escape out of the Arab-Israeli conflict -Civil War in Middle East negatively affecting many

  20. Have Arabs Assimilated? Which aspects of their culture have they held onto? Which have they let go of? -Many Arabs feel pressure just as many other minority groups in America do to assimilate, however there are many aspects of the culture that are still held onto by many. -Often a younger generation of Arabs can feel the most pressure, as many are surrounded in school environments by others dissimilar to them. -Many Arab Americans are conflicted with assimilation because there are many aspects of the Muslim religion as well as Arab culture that oppose some aspects of American culture. -Many are torn about religious headpieces, as some want to keep religious pride and others want to assimilate as much as possible into American society.

  21. YasminHai- An Arab American teenager who had grown up in England “I was struck, when I visited Pakistan, by the confidence of the people, who seemed comfortable in their own skins in a way that my friends and I were not”

  22. Legacy • YassserSeirawan became the United States’ Women’s National Chess Champion. • Doctor ElliasGhanem, was the chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission and Las Vegas’ physician to many celebrities. • Many Arab Americans have had a lasting mark on and have influenced American society.

  23. http://www.bintjbeil.com/E/news/aa_c2.html • http://www.bintjbeil.com/E/news/aa_c3.html • http://www.bintjbeil.com/E/news/aa_c5.html • http://www.bintjbeil.com/E/news/aa_c4.html

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