As a community that puzzles survey researchers and ethnographers, Arab-Americans are often considered hard-to-reach and hard-to-count. Although they share a complex historical and cultural heritage, Arabs vary in their self-identification and how others identify them. Current estimates of Arab-Americans range between over a million and a half according to the Census-Bureau, and nearly three million per the Arab Americans Institute. In order to produce a more qualitatively nuanced and quantitatively precise picture of Arab-American communities, this paper aims to evaluate alternative conceptualizations of Arab ethnicities and to suggest cultural sensitivity as a significant tool in gaining access to the community. Conceptualizing Arab ethnicities is a complex endeavor that dictates understanding the epistemology of Middle Eastern cultures. The Census Bureau and most surveys consider Arab Americans as an ethnicity within the white race. In 1882, Arabs sought to be classified as white in order to become American citizens. While race is no longer an applicable prerequisite to citizenship, Arabs remain a white ethnic group – a racial identity to which they no longer ascribe. This paper examines the applicability of current ethnically-based models of identity to the Arab-American case. It particularly evaluates the linguistic-based Hispanic model, the nationally-based Asian model and the tribally-based Native American model used by the Census to explore a more precise depiction of the community. An accurate depiction of Arab ethnicities also entails adopting a research approach that is considerate of the community’s cultural norms. Cultural sensitivity is a tool that enables researchers to gain access to community members and to assess the great level of distrust that the population feels towards public information and agents. By understanding the significance of informal social networks to the community and placing them into a practical methodological application, this paper aims to contribute to improving methodical measurement of the Arab-American community.

This paper will show that the Census Bureau has captured Arabs and other Middle Eastern and North Africans (MENA) not only numerically as part of the “white” race but more significantly through language, ancestry, place of birth and parents’ place of birth. In terms of language, in 1910, 1920, and 1930 census-takers checked off boxes that reflected official recognitions of languages spoken at home that included Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, and Armenian as well as “Near East Arabic dialects”. Since 1980, the census has coded answers to language questions in a document called the SF4, which includes similar linguistic identifiers: Arabic, Assyrian, Berber, Farsi, Hebrew and Turkish. Linguistic answers are designed to identify a household’s “mother tongue” yet often double as ethnic identifiers that point to the presence of minority populations from the region residing in the U.S. In terms of ancestry groupings, country of “last residence” (for immigration) and “place of birth” (for naturalization) were recorded by immigration authorities. Before the 1930 Census, immigrants from the Ottoman Empire were considered from Turkey and when the Ottoman Empire officially ended, new labels of Syrian, Lebanese, Iraqi and Palestinian were used to denote “place of birth” and “place of parent’s birth” in the census. From 1980 on, the Census recorded self-provided “ancestry” in codes that derived from the 1930 “place of birth” categories thus aligning classifications of ethnicity or ancestry according with previous state-imposed categories. For example, in a 2003 Census report, “Arab population by ancestry” was defined as eighteen countries as well as Arab or Arabic, Middle Eastern and North African in addition to Berber, Alhuceman, Bedouin and Rio de Oro. Like Foucault, I believe that historical sources in the form of both linguistic and ancestry coding can shed light on contemporary issues and be part of a current intervention. Research in the archives at the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Archives at College Park, and the Library of Congress as well as in online databases are able to provide information that highlights the historical role of the official demographic records in identifying and labeling the composition and diversity of MENA groups in the United States. Such an analysis will contribute to understandings of the precursors to an identified MENA designation in the 2020 U.S. Census.

In this study, we examine the extent to which the so-called “Arab immigrant success story” is directly relevant to U.S. Arab immigrants from various regions in the Arab world. This is particularly interesting given that Arab American women report higher education levels than non-Arab women in the U.S. In particular, we use a key indicator of socioeconomic attainment, income, to investigate economic success, controlling for human capital variables including education. Do hourly earnings of Arab immigrants significantly differ by region and gender? Data for this study were derived from the 2001-2013 samples of the American Community Survey. Arab immigrants identified as being born in North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan); Levant/Fertile Crescent (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq); and the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf (Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen) are included. Multivariate regression analyses show that region of origin is not a significant factor in socioeconomic achievement. We rather found that gender is a more powerful variable in structuring socioeconomic variation among Arab immigrants. Findings advance understanding of gender patterns among Arab immigrants, and are discussed in the context of the fact that Arab American women report higher education levels than their non-Arab counterparts.

Although the literature on health and disease status among Arab Americans is slowly, yet steadily increasing, very little information is available on functional limitations (defined as any condition that substantially limits one or more physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting or carrying). The classification of Arab Americans as “white,” per the federal government regulation, masks differences in their health or disease status under the larger “white” category. Convenience sample, community-based studies have been conducted in regions with sizeable populations of Arab Americans. Unfortunately, many of these studies have focused on conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Very few have collected data on functional limitations. Such data are important to collect, especially given the growth of the older population. While community-based studies of Arab Americans are available, national data that includes Arab Americans are rare. The one exception are data from the US Census or American Community Survey (ACS). These initiatives have allowed researchers to identify Arab Americans using the ancestry question. Given the issues raised above, the goals of this study are three-fold: to estimate the sex-adjusted prevalence of functional limitations among Arab Americans 65 years of age or older by nativity status (US- vs. foreign-born) using ACS data from 2009-2013; to examine the association between nativity status and functional limitations before and after controlling for possible confounders; and to compare these findings to results from 2001-2007 ACS data. We hypothesize the following: 1) US-born Arab Americans will be less likely to have a functional limitation compared to foreign-born Arab Americans; 2) when controlling for confounders, English language ability will influence the relationship between having a functional limitation and nativity status; and 3) the current findings will show that prevalence estimates have increased when compared to data from 2001-2007. This study aims to use available data to increase knowledge about Arab Americans’ health and disease issues and raise awareness of community needs for prevention.

The classification of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) responses, such as Lebanese, Moroccan, and Iranian, to the Census Bureau’s question on race adheres to the Federal Register Notice entitled, “Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity” issued on October 30, 1997 by the Office of Management and Budget. Findings from the 2010 Alternative Questionnaire Experiment (AQE) showed that respondents of MENA origin did not consider themselves to be “White” and felt that their race was “Arab” or “Middle Eastern or North African.” Both MENA and non-MENA respondents indicated that there should be a separate category in the race question to represent this population. Since the AQE was conducted, the Census Bureau has been researching and developing a MENA classification to test on the 2015 National Census Test. The Census Bureau received overwhelming support for testing the new category during the Federal Register Notice comment period, which was open from December 2nd, 2014 through February 2nd, 2015. The Census Bureau will continue working with community stakeholders and experts to further develop the MENA classification and improve the MENA code list leading up to the 2020 Census.