Arab Americans are citizens of the United States who trace their ancestry to various waves of immigration from Arab countries around the world. They are permanent residents whose origins lie in Arabic-speaking regions of the Middle East and North Africa. According to the Arab American Institute, these regions include countries such as Comoros, Iraq, Sudan, Kuwait, Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Libya, Jordan, Palestine, Algeria, and Bahrain.
According to historians, the significant period of Arab immigration started in the 1870s, and it lasted till 1924 a period when the Johnson-Reed quota act was amended. Most of the Arab Americans, approximately 26%, come from the Levant’s origin, which included the Syrians, Palatines, Labor, and the Jordan, but overwhelmingly from Lebanon. The remaining percentage that is 76% comprises Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Iraq, as well as the GCC and the other Arabs. Generally, there are no distinct characteristics for the Arab Americans since they may have brown, black, red hair, and blue, brown eyes, and a skin color ranging from very light to very dark. According to the American census report of 2019, there were approximately 2.1 million people of Arabs ancestry in the United States of America.
Major events that have shaped the culture
Some Arab Americans migrated from their locality to escape from the religious persecution of the Ottoman Empire, although a large percentage migrated for economic purposes. As such, most of the immigrants believed that the United States would make them better lives. The distinctive immigrants of this era were the Christians, single, young, and males. Most of these Arabs were illiterates and spoke little or no English. Some of them had planned to operate their business in the United States, save more money and return to their homes only when they have more and enough money and greater status. Most of them moved to rich cities like New York, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, and became peddlers.
Among the things they peddled include religious items, confectioneries, baked goods, and embroideries when their wives mostly made them. As most of the women and families were economic assets, a large number of men returned to the Middle East to marry and return to the United States with their loved ones. Within time, they saved capital and started their small businesses in the United States. Their business performed well, and as their financial status improved and economic life became more stable, they settled in cities and developed communities, including churches, publications, societies, and clubs.
Court cases that involve Arab Americans and incidence in the workplace.
The settlement of the Arab Americans in the United States of America was faced by several cases, including their rights as they settled in the United States. One of the recent cases involving discrimination against American Arabs is the National Wholesale Liquidator filed on June 21, 2007. The charging parties were Arabs employees subjected to racial and ethnic abuse and a couple of female workers being sexually harassed. There were also a couple of them subjected to rigorous discrimination due to the faith they profess. In particular, one of them reported that she was coerced to pull off the headdress with the manager, citing that she would look sexier without it.
On October 23, 2008, the case was resolved with the company being forced to pay a fine of $255,000 to settle the lawsuit initiated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They were charged for subjecting its workers to hostile working conditions and discrimination. The store manager was equally fined for allegations of sexual harassment.
The money was meant to be distributed among the nine victims. With this case being settled, the EEOC believed that it would deter employees from being hostile, racist, and discriminatory towards its employees based on their sexual orientation, skin color, country of origin, and religion. The case was also a reminder to the employees that they need to take allegations of mistreatment seriously and act decisively before the matter goes out of hand (Victor et al., 2017).
The second court case experienced by the Arabs in the United States is on Scully transportation presented on 9/29/2011. This case was received on 9/27/2012. The defendant contract carriage organization discriminates against the Arabs and the other two groups, which are the Hispanic and the East Indians. The so9ng of this case by the court ensured equal service to the Arabs, thus giving them a conducive environment while conducting their business along with the United States. This promoted their working places, resulting in successful operation in the United States.
Stereotypes that continue to persist
According to Kolić (2017), Arabs in America were dehumanized and presented as bad guys. For years the American film has focused on the Arabs as a terrorist and the villains. A new generation of producers and directors is currently challenging religious, gender, and racial stereotypes. This image has a large and strong history in the United States. However, since September 11 attack, it has expanded to a hostile wing, casting a reflection of destruction, fear, and prejudice among the Arabs’ lives in the United States of America.
The fact is that the Arabs in America have diverse politics, national origin, faith, and traditions based on the general community they live in. But a common thread joins them currently bigotry, pervasive and vicious stereotypes in which are large subjects in the TV shows, video games, motion pictures as well as the released films released by special interest groups. The research proves that real images influence real individuals. This argument is grounded on the fact that 55% of the Arabs have encountered discrimination as well as 71% fear future discrimination, which included false threat leading to death (Downing, & Gamil, 2020).
Considerations or awareness to better the Arab Americans in the workplace
The United State has invested in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce the state laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of their color, race, religion, or sex. These have promoted equal opportunities to all employees with no judgment made based on stereotypes. This has made the Arab Americans feel understood, valued, and appreciated based on their skills. In which each member is treated with fairness and offered fair and equal opportunities. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has helped the Arab Americans interact and engage with each other without considering the peer’s originality, color, race, sex, or hierarchy rank in the organization. This has supported the Arabs dealings in the state in conducting their business activities and seeking job opportunities (Thompson, 2019).
References
Downing, J. D., & Gamil, A. I. (2020). Blackness in Arab transnational television comedy: Fresh pushback against entrenched stereotypes. International Communication Gazette, 1748048519898378.
Kolić, A. (2017). Vilification and Dehumanization of Arabs in Hollywood: The Concept of the Other (Doctoral dissertation, University of Zadar. Department of English.).
Thompson, B. Y. (2019). The digital nomad lifestyle:(remote) work/leisure balance, privilege, and constructed community. International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 2(1-2), 27-42.
Victor, C. M., Thacker, L. R., Gary, K. W., Pawluk, D. T., & Copolillo, A. (2017). Workplace discrimination and visual impairment: A comparison of equal employment opportunity commission charges and resolutions under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 111(5), 475-482.
0
1276