April is Arab American Heritage Month

Did you know an estimated 3.7 million Americans have Arab roots?  These Americans have ancestors from the Middle East and North Africa, including Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. 

In the late 1800s, Arab immigration to the United States began with Arab Christians leaving the Ottoman Empire, which today includes Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel.  They left for a variety of reasons, chiefly religious persecution and economic reasons.  Most of these immigrants settled in the Northeast and Midwest part of the United States.  When they arrived in the U.S. they worked as grocers.

Today, two-thirds of all Arab Americans live in California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. One-third live in the greater Los Angeles area, Detroit, and New York.