We’re not white, Indiana. So why does the U.S. Census pretend we are?

Take action by April 27, 2023

As salaamu alaykum, Indiana—

No community should be invisible.

But for millions of people in the U.S., our communities are made invisible by the federal government because if you're from a MENA (Middle East and North African) community, you're essentially counted as white.

This negatively affects our civil rights, safety, and public health. It's also just plain wrong.

We — Arab-Americans, North Africans, Iranian-Americans, and many others — are not white.

The federal government agency responsible for this, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is accepting comments now on a change that could fix it.

We have until April 27th to add a comment. Please take action now, and let the federal government know they must make it right.We shouldn't have to be simultaneously targeted and invisibilized by our government.

But that's exactly what millions of people like me and so many MPower Change members experience on a regular basis.

The U.S. Census counts us as white. Government agencies count us as white. Our ID documents count us as white.
Yeah, it's annoying, but it also impacts us harshly.

In 2021, USA Today referred to the impact of COVID-19 on MENA communities as an "unseen crisis" — because there was little federal data counting just how bad the impact of COVID-19 was on MENA patients. A huge health disaster took place that could have been avoided if our government didn't invisibilize us.¹

The federal government might move to change this right now, depending on how much pressure we can organize by April 27, 2023.

Let's not miss this opportunity.

I have been working on this issue for decades — I saw up close the costs of our communities not being counted.²

For years after September 11th, I saw how people in my community were targeted from every direction. From federal attacks on our civil rights and safety to NYPD and other local police surveillance to violent hate crimes.

Being miscategorized as "white" made it that much harder to show racial discrimination.

In 2010, I was proud to help co-launch a campaign called "Check It Right - You Ain't White" encouraging Arab-Americans across the country to put "Other" on the U.S. census.

Now after a long fight, together with our allied and committed partners, we could see permanent change in the federal government.

If we win, it'll be a huge testament to the work of many organizations and organizers, from the National Network for Arab American Communities and the Arab American Institute to so many more committed partners.

Let's win this together. Take action with us today.

In solidarity,

Linda and the MPower Change team

P.S. Want to support our work towards justice for all people and against white supremacy and Islamophobia? Sign up here to become a recurring MPower Change donor today.

 

Sources:

1."Arab Americans, deemed 'white' in government records, suffer an unseen COVID-19 crisis," USA TODAY, Feb. 28, 2021.

2."This Community Is Not A White Community, Buzzfeed News, Sept. 9, 2015. 

 

 

MPower Change is a grassroots movement of diverse Muslim communities working together to build social, spiritual, racial, and economic justice for all people. Support our work.

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