Arab immigrants have been coming to America since at least the 1890s.
Many came at first for economic opportunity, and then later because of political turmoil in their native lands.
The mission of the Arab-American National Museum in Dearborn Michigan is to show how these immigrants became a part of the fabric of America.
We communicate the Arab-American narrative in the voices of Arab-Americans.
They express their experiences in their own words.
This provides people with a more authentic and real representation of what it means to be Arab-American.
This immigrant story isn't well known among mainstream America and what little Americans do know about Arabs is often informed by negative stereotypes.
The obvious one would be the angry Arab the terrorist Arab, the being afraid of the Arab that comes from abroad, I think that's the very obvious one, but it's a bit overplayed.
And I think one of the more harmful stereotypes that currently exists in American Media is the oppressed Arab woman.
The museum tries to correct those narratives.
