April is Arab American Heritage Month, a month dedicated to celebrating the history, culture, diversity, and significant contributions made by Arab Americans in the United States.
The initiative for official national designation of Arab American Heritage Month was launched in 2017 by the nonprofit organization Arab American Foundation and its sister organization Arab America. It began with support from only a few states and has gained more support with each passing year.
While Arab American Heritage Month is not nationally recognized yet, on “April 19, 2021, President Biden published a White House letter recognizing the month and detailing the importance of appreciating and celebrating the Arab American community and culture. This was the first time a U.S. president publicly validated and commemorated National Arab American Heritage Month. It now has support from the U.S. Department of State and 37 state governors.”
"This month, we recognize National Arab American Heritage Month and honor the contributions of this diverse community to America. Immigrants with origins from the Arab world have been arriving to the United States since before our country’s independence and have contributed to our nation’s advancements in science, business, technology, foreign policy, and national security.
The litany is long and includes Private Nathan Badeen, a Syrian immigrant who fought and gave his life during the American Revolution.
At the State Department, we recognize tremendous diplomats such as Ambassador Philip Habib, former Under Secretary for Political Affairs, who played a prominent role in the Vietnam peace talks resulting in the 1973 Paris Peace Accords and later successfully pursued a ceasefire in Lebanon.
We also recognize Ambassador Selwa “Lucky” Roosevelt, who served the President and Secretary of State as the Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1982-1989, nearly 7 years and longer than anyone else prior.
The Department is fortunate to have had these and so many other talented Arab American colleagues, who strive every day to protect and promote the interests and values of the American people, while representing the United States to the world.”
Press Statement, Recognizing National Arab American Heritage Month,
April 1, 2022
www.state.gov
Download our "Arab American Heritage Month" bulletin board display here. We have spotlighted a number of incredible Arab Americans, from scientists to activists to comedians.
Based on the size of your bulletin board you may choose to spotlight some or all of the individuals available, allowing you to customize your bulletin board display in any number of ways.
We are asking for a suggested donation of $20 which will assist in our efforts to pay the artists and illustrators for their work creating the coloring pages for us each month. However, please feel free to pay whatever you are able. Donations can be made here.
Note: All of the Arab American Heritage Month coloring pages were created by BIPOC illustrators and artists.
Tips for Printing and Putting the Bulletin Board Together:
Posters and Coloring Pages:
Each poster is formatted to print on 8 1/2" x 11 cardstock. There are various general information posters about Arab Americans and Arab American Heritage Month, as well as the individual Arab American posters.
The coloring pages are formatted to print on 8 1/2" x 11 paper.
The "Win a Book" Drawing poster can be trimmed down and then attached to a box for children to drop their quiz or coloring page entries into if you choose to have a drawing for a book as part of your display.
The quiz can be copied and printed to 4 on a page.
Posters can be downloaded here.
You can see a small sampling of the individuals we spotlighted this month and some of the posters included below.
Banner: The banner is formatted to print as a poster at 36" x 10".
Depending on the size of your bulletin board you can cut the sides of the banner down to the size you would like. There are two similar banner options to choose from.
Banners can be downloaded here.
Border: The border is formatted to print on 11" x 17" cardstock.
We recommend printing five copies of the border to have enough to outline your bulletin board, however, depending on the size of your bulletin board you may need more or less.
(Note: the bulletin board at our local elementary school is approximately 96 inches x 47 inches and we need five copies of the border printed and cut to outline the bulletin board.)
Cut along the three lines to create four strips of the border from each sheet of cardstock.
Border can be downloaded here.
This Arab American Heritage Month we hope you enjoy learning about just a few of the incredible Arab American men and women who have helped shape this nation and made invaluable contributions.