In 2021, American President Joe Biden was the first president to recognize National Arab-American Heritage Month. In April of 2022, the US Congress, the U.S. Department of State, and 45 states issued proclamations declaring April as Arab-American Heritage Month. Each year since then, President Biden has issued a proclamation declaring April as Arab-American Heritage Month.

But the initiative to create an Arab-American Heritage Month didn’t start with Joe Biden, nor did it start in 2021. Celebrations of Arab-American heritage go back at least to the 1980’s, with states and cities celebrating at different times. In 2017,  Dr Amal David and Warren David, co-founders of the Arab America Foundation, wanted to create consistency by establishing a whole month dedicated Arab-American heritage. They selected April for several reasons.  First, April is symbolic of the spring, new beginnings, and hope.  It also didn’t interfere with any other commemorative months, like Black History (February), Woman’s History (March), Hispanic Heritage (September and October), or Indigenous Heritage (November). School districts across the country began to adopt the initiative, and an educators guide was created to facilitate learning.

The very first celebration of Arab-American Heritage Month took place in Washington DC in April of 2017. Mayor Muriel Bowser proclaimed April as Arab-American Heritage Month. The following year, more school districts and states recognized the commemorative month. The Arab-American Foundation was launched in 2019, giving even more visibility to NAAHM. Each year, more and more school districts and states issue proclamations.

The theme for this year is “Celebrating Arab-American Resilience and Diversity.” There are many ways that you can celebrate the rich heritage of Arab-Americans.

Arab history begins with the earliest cities and writing. History Unboxed® has several hands-on history boxes exploring the rich history of the Arab people.