RECOGNIZE ARAB VOICES
ARAB HERITAGE MONTH
?? of 116,000 total licensed architects in the United States are Middle Eastern women.
Usually, we start our monthly heritage/history series with statistics of the group whom we are celebrating and contrast the numbers with the overall pool of architects in America. Statistics help us see where we can do better. Unfortunately, this was impossible for Arab Heritage month because organizations such as NCARB and AIA completely disregard Middle Eastern (where the majority of Arab nations are found) as a separate ethnic group. This forces Arabs and Middle Easterners to classify as either “White” or “Other.” By continuing to disregard ‘Middle Eastern’ as an ethnic group, leaders of the profession are creating a false narrative and silencing the voices of many talented professionals who come from different backgrounds.
How can YOU help?
We ask you to engage in our call for a bold and collective action to encourage large organizations to finally recognize Middle Easterners. Let's make NCARB, NAAB, and AIA aware that this is no longer acceptable. Please share our post to create awareness, we need organizations to include “Middle Eastern” as an option under ethnicity.
ZEINA MIDANI
365 Days of Architecture and Mimaria Studio: Support, Recognition, and Hope for the Arab Community
GAËLLE BAZERGI
In the Dimension of Space and Gender: Architecture, as a Middle Eastern Woman
