Scholars over the years have been studying the impact Arab American immigrants have had on Southwest Michigan. In recent years this has become a very important topic, due to the rapid growth and success that Arab Americans are showing. A wide misconception that we must apply when speaking about Arab Americans is calling them Muslims, they are used simultaneously and this is incorrect. Arab’s are a race who originates from the 22 Arab countries while Muslims are followers of the Islamic religion . Arab American entrepreneurs have opened many businesses and are continuing on a remarkable path that is astonishing for a race that is still in its young days. Post 1965 immigrants mostly Lebanese and Syrian decant gained increasingly due to new federal laws that allowed immediate entry if you were related to an American Citizen . This wave also occurred due to the Six Day War the sixty’s, and the two US Gulf Wars . Riding down Warren Ave any day during the week will show the strides that Arab American entrepreneurs have been able to make. The Arab race today is neglected in a way in which they are not written about much, and are not looked upon as a powerhouse in the economy in which they should be. Examining the economic impact Arab Americans have, the struggles they faced, and the future road in Southwest Michigan is essential and must be explored.
The huge economic impact that Arab Americans had started back in the seventy’s. With immigration laws lenient Arab were storming in. The late sixty’s five hundred Arab worked in ford’s rouge plants which they quadrupled in the mid-seventies, and Fifteen thousand member of the UAW were know to be Arabs the same time and where now expanding . Thou they were hard working jobs Arab got the ...
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... amongst Arab American Business. While southeast Detroit is home for many Arab Americans. Increasingly all around the state you are starting to see more and more Arab Americans opening business in other cities and moving out of the bubble of east Dearborn and southwest Detroit. This is very important to see them expanding and make an economical impact somewhere else in the state.
Arab American Impact on economy has proven to be very big and it seems to be increasingly growing year after year. We can know see all the critical details in how Arab American business in Southwest Detroit came about and their contribution to the society. Thou they faced a lot of struggles they are sure looked upon to have a very prosperous future. The positive impact that has served southwest Detroit due to Arab American influence is not questioned whatsoever but it is under researched.
The focus of analysis will consist of Southern Chicago Mexicans and the way by which they established themselves as important features of US civilization. Within the late 1910s and early 1920s the first major waves of Mexican immigrants ventured into the Southside of Chicago. Members of the community overcame the discrimination against them while organizing themselves in way that introduced Mexican pride and community building across their
In 2013, Americans witnessed a slowly sinking ship finally submerge. Once a bustling urban center rife with economic prosperity, the city of Detroit, Michigan filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy case in U.S history on July 18, 2013 (Fletcher, 2013). Over recent decades, Detroit has been the victim of both economic and demographic decay. To put the magnitude of the city’s desolation in perspective, during the middle of the twentieth century, the city’s population was approximately 1,850,000, making it, at the time, the fifth most populous city in the nation. As of 2013 census data, however, the city has dropped to the eighteenth most populous city, with a population of 701,000, the lowest it has been since the 1910s when the city was still developing. What this means is, in a little over half a century, Detroit has seen a population loss of nearly 60%. In fact, it’s the only city to have climbed above one million people and then fallen below that mark (Johnson, 2013). To make matters worse, Detroit’s unemployment rate, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, has risen to 23.1%, the highest of any large city in the nation (U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). Not surprisingly, Detroit is also the nation’s most poverty stricken city, with 36.4% of individuals and 31.3% of families living under the poverty level (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013). Detroit even claims some of the highest crime rates in the country, and thousands of its houses and industrial buildings are abandoned (Koremans, 2013).
...ution, a thriving American economy as well as dreams of escaping famine and oppression led immigrants to America. To the eyes of an endangered family that waits everyday to escape the pangs of hunger, America was a better life, and an almost unreachable goal. To the families that persevered, a new life may have awaited them; but for others, America may have held only poverty and hard labor. Interestingly, this is what the industrialized dream of America granted: chance; not a guarantee, nor even an opportunity in the strictest sense; just a chance. Through the Industrial Revolutions, more jobs were created; with the addition of more jobs, hopeful foreigners could immigrate. With the presence of multiple, well-defined cultural groups America began to diversify, continuing her expansion and paving the way for more people who only held a dream for an opportunity.
The major demographic changes in the Middle East and North Africa have been the massive increase in population, and urbanization which has seen the emergence of many large cities throughout the region. The reasons for this have been because of better health care, greater mobility of the population, economic opportunities in the cities and political changes.
Family and gender among American Muslims: issues facing Middle Eastern immigrants and their descendants. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
The Arab American community has a population of about 1.8 million Arab descendants or immigrants that has been residing in the US since 1980, they are coming from different parts of the Middle east such as Sudan,Syria,Irak, Morroco, Jordania, Palestine, Somalia, Egypt and Lebano. They begin to arrive to Michigan Detroit after 1967, today day is a huge the Arabic American is a huge community in that area of Michigan, They tend to maintain their culture and characterized for been a unite community.
Not only will the economy grow, but we will also regain our nation’s identity as the home of promise. Immigration policies have the power to build up or tear apart communities. While America should be cautious about the quantity of assistance afforded to illegal immigrants, the fear of losing jobs and money to them should not hinder our goal to expand the economy and assist newcomers. Making immigrants feel welcome is essential to improving communities. If we as a community and country refuse to assist those who flee to America for freedom, we are not only harming them, but also ourselves. West Michigan has the potential for blossoming into a fortunate and supportive environment for future immigrants. America was founded as a land of freedom for anyone where you could build up your life and achieve greatness. Hopefully, West Michigan can do its part in fostering relationships between cultures and bridging gaps between societies in our country and
Hassan, Nafaa. "ARAB NATIONALISM: A RESPONSE TO AJAMI'S THESIS ON THE "END OF PAN-ARABISM." Journal of Arab Affairs 2.2 (1983): n. pag. ProQuest. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
Many Muslim immigrants came to the United States of American as slaves from Africa during the 1500’s. Free Muslim immigrants started to arrive to the USA as early as the 16th century, more of them started to migrate to the United State after the Civil War. Many Muslims used refuge and education as an excuse to come to the United States and start a new life. The fact that dictators dominate most of the Muslim territories usually means that there are persecutions, violence, poverty and even wars. These events caused most of the Muslims to seek happiness and peace in the new world: United States. Education was also one of the reasons why Muslims decided to come to the United States. The universities, economic status, and political freedom that America had to offer attracted more than half a million foreign students. By 1965 there was about 150,000 Muslims that lived in the United States.
Arab Americans have lived in America for centuries, but still have to go through the disadvantages of being a minority. Arab Americans are a small group and over the years, have gone through a vast amount of experiences. From first coming to America slightly unnoticed, then being hated because of a problem between America and their home country, to becoming some of the most intellectual people with four-year degrees in America.
Mandel, Michael J. "The Immigrants: How They are Helping to Revitalize the U.S. Economy." Business Week 13 July 1992: 114-118+.
...r opportunity in life. America’s rich multicultural existence is a product of the first Spanish immigrants, the English immigrants from the Mayflower, the Dutch, the Germans, the Scot-Irish, the Irish, the French, the Africans, the Mexicans, the Italians, the Puerto Ricans, the Chinese, and many more. People once came by boats and arrived at check-in points like Ellis Island and registered before entering America. Now, immigrants apply for visas in their homeland, file paperwork and hope they are within the quota to be allowed to travel to America.
A high concentration of African-American entrepreneurs are focused in the service economy. Although these jobs provide viable services and profit for many individuals they are not high profit occupations. This accounts for an African-American presence in entrepreneurship without a high market share. The reasoning for this can partially explained by the Great Migration, a period lasting from 1900-1930 in which millions of African-Americans migrated from the South to Northern cities.1 Upon arrival in the North African-Americans faced entrepreneurial opportunity and already established European communities. With the arrival of these masses of African-Americans came radical changes in the “moderate” status of race relations in the North. “In Cleveland, the influx of African Americans prompted white fears over residential encroachment and occupational competition, resulting in `a sharp rise in racial tensions and an increase in institutional discrimination.’”2 This cause a transformation of the services that already existing African-American entrepreneurs were providing. The newly racialized environment now regulated African-American businesses to serving only African-Americans.
Over the past couple of years Detroit has been faced with many layoffs. Two major causes for layoffs were the Big Three Automobile companies and Detroit filing for bankruptcy. July 2013, Detroit had to file for bankruptcy. With filing for bankruptcy, it caused many people to lose their jobs because Detroit was trying to cut back on spending. People many people suffered from Detroit filing for bankruptcy, because people from outside the city come to the city to work for big corporations mainly in downtown Detroit. Over the years the automobile companies have also been hit with a major crisis due to a decline in sales. While the city dealt with the Big Three Crisis and bankruptcy Detroit’s communities and foreclosures began to be a problem.
To many people today, Arab immigrants are the latest group of a long list that have come to the United States since it’s’ inception. However, people of Arab origin have been immigrating to the United States since before The Declaration of Independence was penned in 1776, and haven’t really stopped since. There were not many Arab immigrants at this time, however. The first notable “wave” of immigrants was not until the late nineteenth century. Since then, there have been multiple distinct waves, but most often they are categorized into two groups: pre-World War 2, and post-World War 2, as the demographics and ideologies are inherently different. As a result, it may seem quite obvious that their presence in American life as well as their identification in such has changed. However, it would be foolish to state that there is no continuity between several aspects of Arab American life then and today. Because both are present in American politics, we can only measure whether there has been a greater degree of continuity or change within past or present-day Arab-American experiences. There are several aspects to both claims. However, after careful analysis it is clear that there has been a greater degree of change amongst Arab Americans because of the change in how they view themselves as a collective entity.