AMREEKA

I watched this movie in an American Studies course I took about a year ago. It was hilarious and very revealing. I was impressed at how good it was considering it was the director, Cherien Dabis', first film. As a post-9/11 film, I could also relate to the time the characters represent and like that it eventually gave positive light for the future. A great film to watch!

The Arab American experience

http://www.aaiusa.org/pages/not-quite-white-race-classification-and-the-arab-american-experience

This article posted on the Arab American Institute's website relates to race classification in relation to Arab Americans and the way government and society views them in the country. The title "Not Quite White" is quite fitting. I have a hard time believing that race is real. The is a lot of discussion on it being a social construction and I would have to say that I lean more towards that understanding. I would rather classify people by ethnicity which has a much broader spectrum than race and isn't so limiting. However, not everyone thinks this way which would explain Arabs identifying with black Americans as a person of colors because they are treated as such. Overall, I think this article gives a lot of great insight on the history and reasoning behind the racial dilemma we face in America.Furthermore, I think that these closing questions are worth pondering:

"The dynamics of identity itself demands further attention. Will past experiences with prejudice and exclusion, and the perception of American policies at odds with the Arab homeland, continue to influence the development of Arab American ethnic identity? What role do Arab-Jewish relations have in the inclusion of Arab ethnics into structures set up to promote diversity? Do we anticipate convergence or divergence between those who relate more comfortably with white ethnics and those who see themselves as people of color? What demographic factors influence each affinity and how dominant is religious affiliation in these trends?"

Suheir Hammad on war and race

What I Will
by Suheir Hammad

I will not
dance to your war
drum. I will
not lend my soul nor
my bones to your war
drum. I will
not dance to your
beating. I know that beat.
It is lifeless. I know
intimately that skin
you are hitting. It
was alive once
hunted stolen
stretched. I will
not dance to your drummed
up war. I will not pop
spin beak for you. I
will not hate for you or
even hate you. I will
not kill for you. Especially
I will not die
for you. I will not mourn

the dead with murder nor
suicide. I will not side
with you nor dance to bombs
because everyone else is
dancing. Everyone can be
wrong. Life is a right not
collateral or casual. I
will not forget where
I come from. I
will craft my own drum. Gather my beloved
near and our chanting
will be dancing. Our
humming will be drumming. I
will not be played. I
will not lend my name
nor my rhythm to your
beat. I will dance
and resist and dance and
persist and dance. This heartbeat is louder than
death. Your war drum ain’t
louder than this breath.

Suheir Hammad has performed this poem for TED and Def Jam Poetry years ago, but her words still are "spine-tingling" as they are double edged.

While What I Will" was written in reference to literal war conflict, I believe her prose is  currently relevant to the racial inequalities people of color face today, the war of race. Hammad is familiar with tensions of race in America as much of her poetry does embody her experience as an other. While she is resisting to conform to the social support of war conflict in the United States, she is (maybe unconsciously) refusing to be put in a racial/ethnic or gendered box. 

Black..Arab.. What's the difference?

This article written by Andrea Shalal-Esa promotes the idea that Arabs identify with communities of color. Her focus is on American writers and how "they are wielding their pens to chronicle decades of racism, oppression, marginalization in the United States... uncovering the particularities of their histories."

http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1386

The discourse surrounding Arab-Americans being considered part of the black community in America has become rich. It seems as if anyone who looks slightly Middle Eastern is automatically grouped as Arab and Muslim. I believe this connection comes from the way Arabs are othered in the same way that African-Americans othered in this country. Poet Suheir Hammad is mentioned in this essay as a Palestinian-American who understands what it means to be poor and colored and America. Her book of poems titled "Born Palestinian, Born Black" explains her experiences plainly and soulfully. Leaning towards hip-hop culture as a means of expression, her poetry resembles rap music that sprung from a place she calls home, Brooklyn.

What's in a name? What's in a face?

Cotta is my maiden name and it is of Arab origin, my extended family is from Iraq. Wong is my husband's last name as he is of Jamaican-Chinese descent. I cannot count how many times he has been mistaken as Arab when we visit international markets and some of my favorite restaurants, probably due to his dark skin and black hair that favors his West Indian genetic traits. For the longest time I couldn't pinpoint how that made me feel. Am I accepted as an Arab in the place I live? Is it such a small part of me, only half of my genetic makeup, that I should just ignore it? In comparison to my sister, I don't look very Arab unless I accentuate some of my "darker" or "foreign" looking features. For example her when I wear darker eyeliner or wear my hair curly, I've been approached with questioning like "where are you from?" or "you're not just white...?" In my younger years, this was flattering because I have always been proud of my heritage, but as I've gotten older I've seen that that question bothers a lot of people who just want to be accepted in their American communities. My experienced has made me recognize that there is such a thing as white privilege and how the subject of race is not just a battle between two skin tones, but all ethnicites are involved. Perhaps the most prominent lesson I've learned from contemplating these inequalities and stereotypes is that outward appearance certainly matters in America.

Welcome to my thoughts, my reasoning...

Arabs, and the entire Middle-East for that matter, are almost never envisioned in a positive light in America. I say almost never because I have not yet come across a positive depiction in pop culture, conversation or my education yet... Unless highly sexualized women are considered to be positive, which it might be to some people in the present state of our popular culture. Hi, my name is Devon Cotta Wong. I became interested in the American view of Arab Americans as I began to examine a people through the lens of my American studies minor. Also, I have always been interested in my families experience as "non typical" Arab-Americans. By this I mean that my family is not Muslim and have light skin, which many Americans characterize Arabs to be. Through personal experience and studying the discourse that surrounds the dehumanization of Arabs, I realize that there is a lot of ignorance that even I, partially connected the community, fell subject to. As an English major expecting to graduate this fall I am excited to compile my thoughts about this topic in a blog format.