Immigration History: Why Are Arab Americans White?

If you are Arab-American (or trace your roots to elsewhere in the Middle East, like Iran, Turkey or Kurdistan), you have probably been very confused filling out the US census.
Unlike Black-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Native-Americans, we don't have a box to identify ourselves as Arab-American--instead, we can select "white" or "other." One time, when I was a college student, I had to fill out a survey that had a box labeled "Middle Eastern or Pacific Islander." Yes folks, somewhere out there, my Lebanese-American sensibilities have been categorized as Samoan.
But what is the history behind this decision? As an Arab-American journalist who spent time reporting in the Middle East, I have always been curious about our communities' history in the United States, and how we went from Arab to Arab-American, and what was lost or gained along the way. If you like the video, please like and subscribe for more educational social justice content from me and my partner, Salem, and if you really like the video and want to work with us on making more videos like us, get in touch with us: [e-mail]
SOURCES:
American Islamophobia: Understanding Roots and the Rise of Fear, Khaled Beydoun
inside.sfuhs.org/dept/history/...
Newlines Magazine: Many Arab Americans Fight To Be Counted Differently, Anna Lekas Miller
newlinesmag.com/reportage/man...
Categorizing Middle East Americans As "White" Undermines The Community's Health, Dr. Deena Kishawi
newlinesmag.com/argument/clas...
#ArabAmericanHeritageMonth

[@Jamila.Hammami]

So on point! Thank you for this critical piece of Arab American history!

[@zacbaillie5266]

Great work Anna & Salam xxx

[@salemrizk]

great!

[@sofinaufal]

really interesting

[@kayla3456]

Never submit to ignorance for material wealth

[@Bryan-xx4xi]

Archeologists can determiner one’s race by their skull. There are three basic skull types: African, Asian, and Caucasian. Everyone fits into one of these three categories.

[@forgive.them.]

What if one parent is asian and the other is white?

[@Bryan-xx4xi]

@@forgive.them. Obviously, one parent Asian and one parent Caucasian changes these archeological results. For thousands of years, a place like Central China has no outside DNA introduced. My point is very simple, you can't erase and/or modify the bones to fit a political agenda. Just like transgender people.... When they are dug up in a thousand years, their hip bones will give their true gender. The bones do not lie.

[@Non_auro_sed_ferro_recuperanda]

​@@forgive.them.
Then they are of heterogeneous race and would have characteristics of both races.

[@bsod111]

bro, what are you talking about, compare the skulls of average english geezah/italian like al capone to skulls of someone like lovecraft or clint eastwood. white european people are insanely diverse even in skull structure. there is no any basic skull type of white person

[@eddiehourani7160]

This is too hot topic from me

[@eyes2338]

Abiyod.

[@user-sg6ce3tx7s]

Gentiles??????