The Arab American Civic Council applauds the City of Garden Grove under the leadership of Mayor Bao Nguyen for recognizing April as Arab American Heritage Month. The announcement was made during the city council meeting on Tuesday, April 26, 2016 two days after our inaugural Arab American Heritage Gala. The primary purpose of the gala was to celebrate and promote April as Arab American Heritage Month.
“It was important to recognize the many contributions of Arab Americans to our nation, which is why we celebrated Arab American Heritage Month at our inaugural gala this pastSunday,” said Rashad Al-Dabbagh, founder/director of the Arab American Civic Council. “We extend our sincerest gratitude to the city of Garden Grove, which has become the first city in Orange County to proclaim April as Arab American Heritage Month, and we encourage other cities to follow.”
On the same day during the highly polarized Anaheim city council meeting discussion to condemn Donald Trump’s bigotry, community activist and AACC board member Mirvette Judeh encouraged the Anaheim council to do the same by stating, “What if we do what Fairfax County did and institute the month of April as Arab American Heritage Month. Nothing says we are Anaheim the city of compassion and kindness like celebrating the contributions and cultural heritage of those Trump has attacked. Let’s make April 2017 be the first ever Arab American Heritage Month in Anaheim.”
Historically, California has been a popular destination for immigrants from the Middle East, creating strong cultural fusions between the two regions; currently there are over 715,000 persons of Arab heritage living in California according to estimates by the Arab American Institute, making it the state with the largest number of Arab Americans.
Click HERE to see photos from the Arab American Civic Council’s inaugural Arab American Heritage Gala, which took place on Sunday, April 24, 2016.
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