Arab American Heritage Month

In honor of Arab American Heritage Month, Michigan Memories is highlighting some of the photographs from the rich collections of our state's cultural institutions. For updates please visit our Facebook page.

Tefwik Nusser in front of store

Possible research questions:

  • Why would a person take a photo in front of their store?

  • What do you notice about the items you see in the windows? How are these the same or different from the things you see at a grocery store today?

  • What else would you like to know about this person and his story? What kinds of sources could help you learn more?

Year: 1912

Source: Joseph Nusser Family Collection Arab American National Museum: https://aanm.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16806coll13/id/86

Note: For more about the Nusser family: https://aanm.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16806coll13

Saudi Arabian Students

Possible research questions:

  • How many Arab and Arab American students were at Grand Valley State University in 1979?

  • What challenges might Arab and Arab American students at US universities have faced in the late 1970s and 1980s?

Year: 1979

Source: Grand Valley State University Photographs. Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives: https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/document/3689

Shatila Bakery, Dearborn, Michigan

Possible research questions:

  • In what type of baked goods does this bakery specialize?

  • What other cultures have specialized bakeries in the Detroit area?

Year: 1994

Source: 1994 Restaurant Photos Collection, Arab American National Museum: https://aanm.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16806coll12/id/30

Lebanese Passport

Possible research questions:

  • What two languages appear on this passport?

  • Without knowing those languages what can be learned about the owner of the passport?

  • How does this passport compare to an American passport?

Year: 1945

Source: Emile Abou Samra Collection, Arab American National Museum: https://aanm.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16806coll5/id/117

Abdeen Jabara, Arab community leader

Possible research questions:

  • Abdeen Jabara is an Arab American civil rights lawyer who was subjected to FBI surveillance during his work defending Arab American clients in the 1970s. Lawyers have an ethical responsibility to protect the privacy of their clients. Why is this important?

  • What was Operation Boulder, and why did it inspire him to work on behalf of Arab American civil rights?

Year: Unknown

Source: The Detroit News Photograph Collection, The Virtual Motor City Collection at the Walter P Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University: https://digital.library.wayne.edu/item/wayne:vmc53785_1

The Abdeen Jabara's papers: 1956-1994, are at the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-0234

Letter from Gamal Abdel Nasser

Possible research questions:

  • Who was Gamal Abdel Nasser and what impact did he have on the Middle East?

  • What reasons would a politician or diplomat have for sending a letter like this?

Year: 1960

Source: Rosemary Hakim Collection, Arab American National Museum: https://aanm.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16806coll5/id/117

Letter of Recommendation

Possible research questions:

  • What is a letter of recommendation, and why might someone need one?

  • Why would it be important for a diplomat to have a recommendation like this?

Year: 1957

Source: Rosemary Hakim Collection, Arab American National Museum: https://aanm.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16806coll5/id/117

Recipes for Harriseh and Grybeh Cookies

Note: For a recipe for Grybeh Cookies, see here: https://aanm.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16806coll18/id/178

Possible research questions:

  • How do these recipes differ from ones you might find online?

  • Why would recipes be part of a museum’s collection?

Year: 1950s

Source: Aliya Ogdie Hassen Collection, Arab American National Museum: https://aanm.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16806coll18/id/177

Scrapbook

Possible research question:

  • What do the things Rosemary Hakim kept in her scrapbook tell you about her career and what she did?

Year; 1957-1958

Source: Rosemary Hakim Collection, Arab American National Museum: https://aanm.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16806coll5/id/117