The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) is the largest Arab American community nonprofit in the United States. The Center for Arab American Philanthropy, an institution of ACCESS, is a national community foundation and CMF member.
ACCESS offers a wide range of social, economic, health and educational services to a diverse population throughout southeast Michigan.
ACCESS has been engaged in advocating for equity, inclusion and representation of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) communities for several years.
According to ACCESS, there are currently more than 5 million MENA Americans living all over the U.S., with the largest concentration of MENA populations living in Michigan, California and New York.
Michigan is home to the largest, oldest and most diverse Arab American community in the United States. In particular, the Detroit metropolitan area is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans. The city with the largest percentage of Arab Americans is Dearborn, a southwestern suburb of Detroit.
The 2020 Census did not have a MENA response category, forcing MENA individuals to identify as “White” or use the write-in option, leaving a gap in critical data for the MENA population.
According to research from the Census Bureau, 87% of people with Middle Eastern or North African backgrounds would choose to self-identify as MENA over White.
“The idea is to allow people to be proud of who they are if that’s how they identify and through that to have a mechanism where we’re able to easily gather equitable data around health, education and other equity areas that are maybe unique to our community,” Maha Freij, president and CEO of ACCESS and CMF trustee said.
Freij shared that, for example, the lack of MENA data has led to difficulties around inaccurate COVID-19 vaccination rates and redistricting based on the 2020 census.
Recently, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced a proposed revision to Directive 15 to include a MENA category to all federal data collection, including the census, which will allow greater representation and access to federal resources for communities.
The OMB is now accepting public comments on six issues that do not include MENA community data.
“I would urge all foundations and leaders of any philanthropic organization to submit a comment about the importance of MENA inclusion. When the foundation community in Michigan designs solutions with the prism of racial equity, they cannot ignore the huge MENA population with special barriers in their backyard,” Freij said.
Now through April 12, the OMB is accepting public comments for more equitable data around the areas of civil rights, health & education, small business & access to capital, arts & culture, voting & political representation and equity for all. CMF will be submitting comments.
“In the philanthropic community, especially those who engage more in Southeast Michigan because there’s a large population of Arab Americans there when they look at data and conducting research that allows them to understand the barriers that the disadvantaged communities in the region are dealing with, I would encourage them to have the voice of the Arab American community heard,” Freij said.
Freij shared that although MENA is considered a racial/ethnic minority group, the community is sometimes overlooked.
“While we are part of communities of color, we also have a set of barriers that maybe other communities don’t deal with necessarily. For example, dealing with a large community of new immigrants and refugees with language and status barriers in terms of their citizenship. Or from a mental health perspective, a lot of the population that comes to the U.S. deal with the trauma from running away from war-torn countries,” Freij said.
As CMF reported, several other advocacy efforts have been launched to help distinguish the MENA community on federal forms. Last year, Senator Gary Peters championed legislation that would specifically identify MENA communities as underserved, establishing a precedent for the inclusion of this community in federal relief.
The National Network for Arab American Communities, a national program of ACCESS, has helped Michigan lawmakers Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Debbie Dingell draft and introduce legislation to modify section 1707 of the Public Health Service Act to require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) to recognize MENA individuals as a racial and ethnic minority group and build equitable and inclusive requirements within OMH programs.
“I think that the foundation community in Michigan can be a little bit more intentional in including the MENA population as they think about racial equity. We see a very strong opportunity for philanthropy to be engaged in this work through the OMB public comment opportunity and hopefully, when it becomes official within OMB, it will be a little different,” Freij said.
Want more?
Submit public comments to the Office of Management and Budget now through April 12 to advocate for MENA inclusion in all federal data collection.
Learn more about ACCESS.
Learn more about the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Communities.
April is National Arab American Heritage Month, celebrating and honoring the many contributions of the Arab American community to America. As we look to celebrate this month and beyond, we invite you to share how you’re celebrating Arab American leaders, communities and more with the CMF team.
