Historical_Report_on_Race

Historical Report on Race Joshua Jock Ethics/125 Version 8 May 21,2013 Instructor: Okey Nwachukwu-Udaku Arab Americans trace their ancestral roots to several Arab countries. Lebanon is the homeland of a majority of Arab Americans, followed by Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, and Jordan. The Arab world consists of 21 countries that span from North Africa to the Persian Gulf. According to the 1990 census, there were 870,000 persons in the United States who identified themselves as ethnically Arab or who emigrated from one of the 21 countries that constitute the contemporary Arab world. Previous estimates by scholars and Arab American community organizations placed the number of Arab Americans at between one and three million. The discrepancy is partly due to the standardization of Arabs in the United States, leading many to conceal their ethnic affiliation. The traditional suspicion of Middle Easterners toward government authorities seeking information of a personal nature compounds this problem. These two factors, along with standard problems in collecting census data, probably explain the discrepancy between the estimates of scholars and the actual census count. Considering these factors, a revised estimate likely would place the number of Arab Americans in the range of one to two million. The attacks of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent backlash against persons perceived to be Arab, South Asian, or Muslim, produced a heightened interest Arab American studies. This increased interest, however, often reduces the rich and diverse experiences of Arabs in the U.S. to the circumstances of September 11th and its aftermath. Our approach to Arab American studies displaces the post-September-11 gaze with a focus on diverse local, national, and global events that have inspired Arab immigration and displacement to the U.S. and shaped Arab American engagements with racism and whiteness within different historical contexts. Our research and teaching highlight Arab American cultural expressions, the links between race, class, gender, sexuality, and religion, and the significance of media and art to Arab American individuals and communities. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the number of hate crimes directed against Arab Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs escalated dramatically. In 2001, Arab Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs were victimized in nearly five percent of the total number of hate crimes reported that year (481 out of 9,730 according to the Leadership Conference) an increase over the prior year. While the number of reported hate crimes against Arab Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs has declined from the peak of 2001. It remains substantially above pre-2001 levels. In 2007, for example, 115 hate crimes were reported, more than four times as many as were reported in 2000. Since September 11th 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General had put out a memo in response to violence, threats, and discrimination against Arab Americans as follows: “The Attorney General has made clear that any act of violence or discrimination against a person based on the perceived race, religion or national origin of that person is contrary to our fundamental principles and the laws of the United States. His statement is a reminder to all Americans that Americans of Arab or South Asian descent and people of the Muslim faith were also injured and killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001. In addition, they also are—along with other Americans—involved in relief operations and other efforts to alleviate suffering. Any threats of violence or discrimination against Arab or Muslim Americans or Americans of South Asian descents are not just wrong and un-American, but also are unlawful and will be treated as such. We encourage members of the law enforcement and corrections community, as well as our other recipients, to help ensure that violence, threats of violence, and discrimination of this type are expeditiously and effectively addressed. In addition to ensuring that these matter are addressed, we remind you that, as recipients of federal financial assistance from the Department of Justice, you are also legally obligated to ensure that your programs and services are provided to your communities in a nondiscriminatory manner. Together, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion in programs receiving assistance from the Department of Justice. You are responsible for ensuring that no individual is excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of your programs and services on the basis of race, color, national origin or religion. Further, agencies and organizations receiving financial assistance from the Office of Justice Programs or the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services are also prohibited from discriminating in their employment practices on these bases. We must not descend to the level of those who perpetrated violence by targeting individuals for threats or violence based on their race, religion, and national origin. To do so would be to grant terrorists a victory they cannot—and would not—otherwise achieve. We are a great nation; we must treat one another and others in a manner consistent with that greatness. Everything we do must reaffirm and respect the dignity, heroism and sacrifice of those who have died, lest their sacrifice be in vain.” References Arab Americans. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/A-Br/Arab-Americans.html Arab Amercian Studies. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.lsa.umich.edu/ac/arabamericanstudies Hate Crimes against Arab Americans, Muslims and Sikhs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.civilrights.org/publications/hatecrimes/arab-americans.html Office of Justice Programs: Civil Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/about/ocr/memo110501.htm