Page - 210 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Kenneth Starck | Perpetuating Prejudice 210 The 1960s was an extremely volatile time both politically and socially, and this volatility deeply affected the Arab-American community. The burgeoning Dearborn Arab community was developing an identity, and it was in the midst of this a small group of dedicated and concerned people came together determined to provide assistance for immigrants in any way we could. We saw the daily struggles many Arabs who immigrated to the United States faced – the linguistic, cultural, and social barriers – and we knew we had to do something. ACCESS was literally a labor of love; it was completely staffed by volunteers assisting those who had trouble with English fill out applications, complete their tax forms, translation, and anything else they needed. In 1970, George Khoury (a current lifetime member of ACCESS’ Board of Directors) was elected our first board president. 9.3 National Association of Arab Americans (NAAA) http://www.cafearabica.com/organizations/org12/orgnaaa.html The National Association of Arab Americans is a foreign policy lobbying group dedicated to the formulation and implementation of an objective and nonpartisan U.S. foreign policy agenda in the Middle East. Founded in 1972, NAAA works to strengthen U.S. relations with Arab countries and to promote an evenhanded American policy based on justice and peace for all parties in the Middle East. The premier Arab-American political organization, NAAA serves as a spearhead for the community's lobbying activities in Washington, D.C. and is the only such organization registered with Congress. 9.4 American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=125 Mission: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is a civil rights organization committed to defending the rights of people of Arab descent and promoting their rich cultural heritage. ADC, which is non-sectarian & non-partisan, is the largest Arab-American grassroots organization in the United States. It was founded in 1980 by former U.S. Senator James Abourezk and has chapters nationwide. ADC's Advisory Committee is made up of an impressive group of people that include: Muhammad Ali, Her Majesty Queen Noor, U.S. Congressmen John Conyers (D-MI), Darrell Issa (R-CA), & Nick Joe Rahall (D-WV), as well