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Get Inside the News
Topic of Discussion: Racial Profiling of Arab Americans
Questions to enhance an understanding of current events:
Are all Arabs Muslim? Are all Muslims Arab?
Do Arabs have a shared religion? A shared
language? To which places do Arab Americans trace their origins?
Who are some famous Arab Americans?
What is racial profiling?
What are the constitutional rights of American
Citizens? What are the rights of Foreign Nationals?
Conversation starters:
1. Begin by asking questions that examine
preconceived ideas about Arabs. You might ask, “When
you hear the word ‘Arab’ what are the first
things that come to mind? What are the images of Arabs that
we see most frequently on TV, in the movies, in books?”
Emphasize the diversity in the Arab world.
Arabs are rich and poor, urban and rural, traditional and
modern, Islamic and Christian. Note that images of Arabs often
focus on the sensational, the Violent and the picturesque.
Not on normal life.
2. Follow up with by connecting this to
recent events. You might ask, “Do you feel differently
about Arab Americans after the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001? How does your response to this questions make you
feel?”
3. Connect the conversation to personal experience. You might
ask, “Have you ever been treated differently because of your
race? If so, how did this make you feel? Is there a difference
between ‘racial profiling’ and ‘racism’? If so, what is it?
”
For More Information Bank Street Recommends
Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye
http://www.bankstreetbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?&s=showproduct&isbn=0689825234
Samir and Yonatan by Danielle Carmi, translated by Yael Lotan
http://www.bankstreetbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?&s=showproduct&isbn=0439135044
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