State Bill to Include MENA Communities Introduced in the California Assembly
The California MENA Civil Rights Coalition member-organizations, led by the Arab American Civic Council, applaud the introduction of AB 2763: California MENA Inclusion Act. The bill was introduced by California State Assemblymember Bill Essayli and supported by key community partners. This legislation will require all state departments, agencies, and commissions that collect demographic data to include a standard titled “MENA” across all intake forms. It further requires the State of California to recognize the diverse ethnic sub-populations from the MENA region.
Assemblyman Essayli released the following statement:
“I’m proud to be authoring AB 2763, the Middle East or North African (MENA) Inclusion Act, which will provide demographic data representation to MENA identity groups. More than 700,000 individuals in California identify as Middle Eastern or North African but are typically classified as “White” for data collection purposes. Current demographic data collection in California is entirely inadequate in capturing the unique experiences that MENA communities face, from health issues to socioeconomic outcomes.
As a Lebanese-American and the first Muslim elected to the California State Assembly, I authored House Resolution 30 in 2023, which called for a MENA category to be established as part of federal data collection standards. The MENA Inclusion Act is a continuation of my office’s important work with the Arab American Civic Council to give MENA communities long overdue recognition. AB 2763 will ensure that state agencies and legislators will have the necessary data to make informed decisions about policy priorities and resource allocation.”
Simultaneously, the CA MENA Civil Rights Coalition launched the #CountMENAInCA Campaign, a movement aiming to support the passage of AB 2763 and end years of invisibility, undercounting, underreporting, and marginalization of the MENA community.
California is home to the largest MENA community in the United States. For several decades, community members have advocated for a distinct demographic classification, citing that the absence of a category has led to several inequities in healthcare, education, and civil rights. Organizations and leadership that work closely with the MENA population cannot provide crucial interventions to improve the quality of life for their population without recognition of the MENA population and effective data.
Introducing the California MENA Inclusion Act, alongside the #CountMENAInCA Campaign, is crucial to recognizing and supporting the vibrant, impactful, and diverse MENA community. To learn more about the campaign, follow the hashtag #CountMENAInCA on social media or visit the campaign site, http://www.countmenainca.org/
Statements from Community Organizations:
“The Arab American Civic Council is thrilled to support the CA MENA Inclusion Act, which resonates deeply with our organization’s mission. Having dedicated over a decade to empowering Arab Americans in the Greater LA Area through civic engagement, we recognize the distinctive needs of the Middle Eastern and North African communities we serve, from equal representation in civil rights to equal housing, healthcare, and education opportunities. The CA MENA Inclusion Act is pivotal in recognizing the population in all state data collection forms, which will provide important measurements to monitor discrimination and civil rights violations better, support Arab American entrepreneurs with state resources, and address community-specific health concerns. With this legislation, Arab Americans in California will no longer be overlooked. This marks a transformative moment for our community.” –Rashad Al-Dabbagh, Executive Director, Arab American Civic Council.
“CAIR-CA proudly joins our coalition partners in celebrating the introduction of the California MENA Inclusion Act in the California State Legislature. For too long, the Middle Eastern/ North African community in California has been underrepresented and deprived of resources due to a lack of accurate data collection. As the largest civil rights organization representing American Muslims and over 1 million California Muslims, CAIR-CA has firsthand seen the effects of this issue on the community across all spheres of life – be it in schools, social services, or courtrooms. This urgent bill will ensure services made for and provided to the community are culturally sensitive, linguistically relevant, and catered to the community’s unique needs. We look forward to seeing the California MENA Inclusion Act propel through the legislature and become a reality for our community in 2024.” — Nazeehah Khan, Policy & Government Affairs Manager, Council on American-Islamic Relations, California (CAIR-CA)
“Somali Family Service of San Diego proudly joins the coalition in supporting the California MENA Inclusion Act’s introduction to the California State Legislature. Our organization serves multicultural refugee and immigrant communities primarily in San Diego’s Central and East County regions through health and wellness, economic development, youth leadership, refugee integration, and workforce development programs,” said Ahmed Sahid, President and CEO of Somali Family Service of San Diego. “The California MENA Inclusion Act would bolster efforts statewide by promoting access to accurately collected and reported demographic data while supporting the equitable distribution of culturally and linguistically-appropriate resources.” –Ahmed Sahid, President and CEO, Somali Family Service of San Diego
“The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) gladly joins the coalition of Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African community organizations supporting the proposed MENA Inclusion Act in the California State Legislature. California’s recognition of our community is an essential step to repair decades of disenfranchisement and erasure on an administrative level. As the country’s largest grassroots civil rights organization for Arab Americans, ADC is encouraged by the potential of this proposed bill to provide long-overdue resources and recognition for the community. By requiring state departments to collect and publish comprehensive demographic data, the Act will pave the way for targeted interventions and tailored support in areas such as healthcare, education, and social services. The passage of this bill will not only advance the civil rights of Arab Americans and MENA individuals but also reaffirm California’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. ADC looks forward to working alongside policymakers and community partners to ensure the successful implementation of the California MENA Inclusion Act. –Abed Ayoub, Executive Director, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
“Access California Services proudly joins the coalition of our Middle Eastern and North African community organizations and is excited for the introduction of the CA MENA Inclusion Act in the California State Legislature. This bill holds the promise of promoting substantial benefits by creating targeted health programs, vocational training, and educational opportunities that are culturally sensitive and tailored to the unique needs of the MENA population. AccessCal believes the bill is not just a checkbox but a commitment to inclusivity, amplifying the voices of the MENA community in shaping policies while working closely with decision-makers to benefit us all and celebrates the diverse identity of the MENA population.” –Nahla Kayali, Founder and Executive Director, Access California Services
“AB 2763 is a major leap forward in advancing the civil rights of our MENA communities. For far too long, MENA-Americans have been invisibilized, marginalized, and misrepresented. With this bill, we, as MENA-Americans in California, are speaking for ourselves and declaring boldly that we must be represented too. As Armenian-American Action Network, we know data on MENA-Americans will break down many doors in issue areas that our communities face every day— from healthcare and housing to education, business, and the arts. The introduction of the bill from Assembly Essayli represents a major milestone for MENA communities in California. It is time to #CountMENAInCA.” –Sophia Armen, Executive Director, Armenian-American Action Network
“We applaud the introduction of the MENA Inclusion Act in California, a bill that advances the needs and success of our community through basic visibility. NIAC has played an active role in advancing this issue for the Iranian-American community – from the 2010 Census to the 2020 Census to the upcoming 2030 Census to now, with these significant, state-level efforts that will ratchet up the necessary pressure for parallel action at the federal level. This is the first of many steps to not just put our community on the map through formal data collection, but to subsequently help address health disparities, business and community growth, and political participation. We look forward to the passage and implementation of this bill and the benefits it will bring about for the Iranian-American contributions to the community and other MENA sub-communities alike.” –Myriam Sabbaghi, National Organizing Director at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC)
“The National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) is proud to support and be a part of the California MENA Coalition supporting the introduction of the California MENA Inclusion Act. This bill gives us visibility and amplifies our collective voice while ensuring the unique needs of Americans from the MENA region are met. People from the MENA region are unable to quantify the inequities they face in healthcare, primary and secondary education, and economic opportunities. Passing this legislation would show California’s commitment to recognizing and uplifting communities that have brought so much to the state already.” –Rima Meroueh, Director of the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC)
“The Arab Cultural and Community Center (ACCC) applauded AB 2763, which would empower our community members’ voices in their unique contribution to American culture. Not only would this bill highlight and amplify our contributions to society, but it would also address our community’s needs for better health resources, educational needs, affordable housing, and civic engagements. AB-2763 would move our work from the undercover to the recognizable world with the other racial recognized groups. –Altayeb Abdulrahim, Operation Manager for the Arab Cultural and Community Center in the San Francisco Bay Area
