Some of this year's new efforts and small success, connecting closely with the School District of Philadelphia to bring more context on the underrepresented experiences and stories of my people.
I feel grateful for having this opportunity to write something about Arab Heritage Month and Arab communities in Philadelphia for the April newsletter issued by The School District of Philadelphia's Equity Coalition. I will also be hosting a learning session mid-April to talk about best practices around the integration and celebration of students, families, and community members who have Arab heritage and shared experiences with Arab cultures in schools and beyond.
"Equity in Practice is a monthly lunch and learn series in which district stakeholders can learn about what services our partners throughout the city offer and learn ways to engage with the communities they serve."
Wednesday, April 12th, 2023, 12pm – 1pm, Virtual on Zoom, FREE
Read it all and pass it on, let's continue to shed light on our communities and their contributions.
https://www.philasd.org/dei/2023/03/27/april-2023-newsletter-2/
“The Philadelphia area has been home to immigrants with Arab heritage from as early as the 1800s, the Arab community in Philadelphia has continued to grow rapidly and become more diverse in the past two decades. The Arabic language is now among the 5 most spoken languages in our school district by English language learners and their families.
Arab families in Philadelphia are concentrated in South, North, Southwest, and Northeast Philadelphia and while some have been here for 5 generations, many are also newcomers.
The Arabic language holds a special place for Philadelphia residents of many diverse cultural backgrounds who don’t necessarily hail from the Arab world with West Africans, Southeast and Central Asians, and African American Muslim communities in Philadelphia as examples.
Despite a long history of existence dating back prior to the US independence, Arab American communities from the Middle East and North Africa are still not included in the U.S Census, but there are national and local campaigns for their existence to be recognized.
We hope that this Arab Heritage Month is an opportunity for us to explore and reflect on the history, contributions, as well as current challenges that Arab heritage communities, students, and families in our school district strive to overcome.”
