It’s time to celebrate Arab American Heritage Month
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April is Arab American Heritage Month! Here’s how to commemorate this month-long observance.
⚠️ Pyn note to HR: Update this message to reflect any available events or ERGs.
What you need to know about Arab American Heritage Month
Arab American Heritage Month is observed in the U.S. every April. The purpose of this observance is to celebrate the history, contributions, and culture of Arab Americans.
Arab American Heritage Month is gaining more attention in the U.S. In 2021, the State Department and President Joe Biden designated April as Arab American Heritage Month. This is the first time this observance was recognized by the State Department and on a federal level.
How to take action during Arab American Heritage Month
Celebrate the diversity of the Arab American community. The Arab American community can trace their ancestry back to 22 countries across the Middle East and North African regions. Each of these countries has its own unique history, cultures, and traditions. Recognizing this diversity is a step in the right direction to celebrate Arab American Heritage Month!
Understand the past and present issues. To support the Arab American community, take the time to understand the challenges they’ve faced—both in the past and present. Here are a few obstacles that Arab Americans continue to face today:
- Dealing with anti-Arab prejudice. Arab Americans have been faced with discrimination in the U.S. for decades—and it continues to be a huge issue for Arab Americans today.
- Lacking racial and ethnic identifiers. Arab Americans don't have a racial or ethnic identifier on official forms, forcing community members to check "White" or "other" when declaring their race.
- Conflating religion with identity. Many people wrongfully conflate Arab Americans with Muslims. This is inaccurate, given that Middle Eastern and North African countries represent a wide variety of religions, from Christianity to Catholicism.
It’s also important to demonstrate your allyship to Arab American communities year-round by taking action against acts of violence, discrimination, or unfair treatment.
Be part of the conversation. We’ll have a Slack channel dedicated to Arab American Heritage Month that anyone is welcome to post in. We also have an Employee Resource Group (ERG) for our Arab American employees that anyone can join! At our next meeting, we’ll discuss relevant topics such as:
- [Insert topic]
- [Insert topic]
- [Insert topic]
Join our company-hosted events. We’re also excited to host events that celebrate the histories, culture, and contributions of the Arab American communities! Here’s what’s happening over the next month:
- [Insert event]
- [Insert event]
- [Insert event]
Additional resources for Arab American Heritage Month
If you’re curious to learn more, we compiled a few resources to help you further your education!
