April is Arab American Heritage Month. Arab American heritage has been celebrated in the month of April sporadically in various states since the 1990s. In 2017, the organization Arab America began a national initiative to coordinate all states under National Arab American Heritage Month, and asked U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) to issue a congressional resolution proclaiming National Arab American Heritage Month. Since then, as a result of this effort, more than 100 proclamations across the country have been issued by state legislatures, municipalities, counties, and school districts. California’s formal proclamation of Arab American Heritage Month was adopted in 2018 and encourages all residents of California to join in this special observance.

On April 1st of this year, in a video statement, the U.S. State Department designated April as Arab American Heritage Month. As the State Department spokesperson stated: “The United States is home to more than 3.5 million Arab Americans representing a diverse array of cultures and traditions. Like their fellow citizens, Americans of Arab heritage are very much a part of the fabric of this nation and Arab Americans have contributed in every field and profession, many of them, in fact, serve here at the State Department and throughout the interagency.”