People from all over the world, representing a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic backgrounds, live in the melting pot known as the United States of America. According to the Arab-American Institute, around 3.7 million Arab Americans live in the United States. The website states, “Many people are unaware of the size, diversity, and interests of the Arab American community” (aaiusa.org). With little to no understanding of Arab culture, dangerous stereotypes and lack of education can cause both harm to and instability for Arab-American communities.
The UC High community is extremely diverse and on a journey to increase inclusivity. Alumnus Sevilla Tovar said, “I consider myself to have a widely diverse ethnic background, with roots in the Hispanic and Arab communities especially. I’ve seen a lack of representation for people who look like me. Being in advanced classes, there’s still a disparity in the amount of students of similar backgrounds.” Even within Arab communities, people come from different religious backgrounds and cultures. “
“Arab Americans constitute an ethnicity made up of several waves of immigrants from the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa that have been settling in sizable numbers in the United States since the 1880s. As an ethnic community, Arab Americans can identify with any racial group, and more than 85 percent are U.S. citizens,” according to the Arab-American Institute. “Their Arab heritage reflects a culture that is thousands of years old and includes 22 Arab countries as diverse as Palestine, Yemen, Sudan, and Morocco” (aaiusa.org). It is evident that there is a large and vast Arab population in the US that is often overlooked and misunderstood.
Stereotypes may take over a person’s perception of other people around them and cause them to act on prejudice. According to The Minority Rights Group, “Since the late 1970s, Arab Americans and Arab Canadians were periodically subjected to harassment at border crossings, and the US repeatedly sought to deport politically active Arab visitors or immigrants as ‘terrorist supporters,’ even though they have not been convicted of any crime” (minorityrights.org). Tovar said, “I am absolutely of the opinion that stereotypes against people of color, particularly Arab Americans in the current global context, can harm the community. Hate is something that sprouts from misinformation and grows in the shadow of cruel humor. It’s imperative that communities band together to promote education.” Teenagers often make jokes that are dismissed and labeled as irrelevant when they truly affect minority groups and people of color.
According to a website that has information about psychology, “Systemic racism refers to the social structures, policies, and institutions that serve to oppress people of color…. The policies instituted by the settler colonists centuries ago continue to affect BIPOC today. Systemic racism not only puts marginalized groups at a socioeconomic disadvantage, but it also takes a toll on their mental health” (verywellmind.com). Time and time again, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination demonstrate that people of color are being negatively impacted for being who they are.
Additionally, systemic racism seeps into society through media and television. The Minority Rights Group said, “Negative stereotypes of Middle Eastern characters and of Islam have been common in US film and television, and in radio and newspaper commentaries” (minorityrights.org). A constant appreciation for diversity has an impact on societies’ view of ethnic groups and has a larger impact on all the generations to come. Tovar said, “While I have not been explicitly discriminated against, I have seen numerous examples of discrimination towards my heritage online. From self-proclaimed jokes, to blatant racism, it never fails to cast a shadow on my mind. I try to not let things like that get to me, but it’s deeply saddening to know that people exist who have with such strong opinions against parts of who I am.” The pain and affliction that people of color endure is evident and there is a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done to ensure that people are able to care for themselves and for each other.
At UC High, there is a Middle Eastern North African Club, also known as MENA, that aims to uplift Arab voices and share Arab heritage with the student body. They aim to help with issues of inclusivity and to spread further understanding of Arab-American culture.
It is important that UC High students, staff and administration continue working to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion.