Arab Americans: Into the Multicultural Mainstream

Long-standing anti-Arab racism in the U.S. has worsened in recent decades, fueled by U.S. military involvement in the Middle East and by the September 11 attack on the U.S. Arab American and Muslim children have been the targets of misunderstanding and discrimination. Following a historical introduction, discrimination against Arab American and Muslim communities at the personal and institutional level is analyzed in light of Iris Marion Young's (1990) Young, I. M. 1990. Justice and the politics of difference, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. [Google Scholar] “Five Faces of Oppression.” The systematic transformation of the curriculum to be fully inclusive of Arab Americans would be a major improvement. (Banks' 1989 Banks, J. A. 1989. “Integrating the classroom with ethnic content: Approaches and guidelines”. In Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives, Edited by: Banks, J. A. and McGee Banks, C. A. 189–207. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. [Google Scholar], 2002 Banks, J. A. 2002. Teaching strategies for ethnic studies, , 7th ed., Boston: Allyn & Bacon. [Google Scholar]) four phases of multicultural infusion is used as a guide for how this might be done. Specific types of problems and ways to address them are discussed. A list of recommended classroom materials is also provided.