Arab Americans Research Paper

Words: 2230
Pages: 9

Arab Americans: A Look at Their History and Culture in the U.S.
The path to racial equality has been a long and bumpy road in America. Gamechangers, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks, have fought hard to pave the way toward a better future for minority groups. While most of the public’s attention has been focused on African American rights, there is another minority group who have faced much discrimination and prejudice in the United States: Arab Americans. According to Richard T Schaefer (2015), author of Racial and Ethnic Groups, the term “…Arab Americans refers to the immigrants and their descendants from the countries that now make up the Arab world” (p. 244, para.2). These Arab countries include Morocco, Iraq, and Saudi
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El- Aswad (2010), gives an example of a Yemeni-American woman who holds on to her traditions by wearing traditional Yemeni clothing, and embracing American culture by enjoying sports games (p. 234, para. 8). Many Arabic individuals choose to hold on to their traditions while embracing the American culture. Many Arab Americans are focused on forming social bridges with their fellow American citizens and regarding the American-Arab identity El-Aswad states: “[i]t is a unique blend of both the traditional and 'new' modern sides of 'me.' It is a combination of sameness and difference” (p. 234, para. 10). By adopting American culture into their own lives, social bridges are more easily …show more content…
Arab families are typically large and may consist of multiple generations living under one roof. Both adult children and elderly family members may live together for extended periods of time. According to Randa A. Kayyali (2012), contributing author of Daily Life of Arab Americans in the 21st Century, “[i]n many Arab American families, there is an expectation that adult children will live at home until they get married, even if they are older than their late teens or early 20s” (p. 60, para. 1). Elderly members are viewed with respect and often are taken care of by the younger generation. Kayyali (2012) states that the elderly are often rotated between family homes (p.62, para. 2). By rotating the elderly between homes, the responsibility of their care is shared evenly amongst the family. In the more traditional home, the father is the head of the household and the mother stays at home to take care of the children. Kayyali (2012) notes that whether a home is patriarchal or matriarchal depends on that family’s specific religious beliefs and culture (p. 67, para.