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[00:00.04]Arab Americans have long been a part

[00:03.60]of life in the United States.

[00:06.76]A small museum in Dearborn,

[00:10.08]Michigan is trying to tell their stories.

[00:14.08]Called the Arab American National Museum,

[00:18.08]it has an exhibit about Joseph Haggar.

[00:22.16]He was a Lebanese immigrant who founded

[00:25.32]Haggar's clothing company in 1926.

[00:30.40]Diana Abouali is the museum's director.

[00:35.64]Abouali said, "He settled in Texas,

[00:39.08]and he started this pant company

[00:41.72]that was extremely successful in the 20th century."

[00:46.68]She added, "He also revolutionized

[00:50.04]the way that pants and clothing were mass produced."

[00:55.88]Haggar came up with the word "slacks"

[00:58.96]to describe pants that people would wear while relaxing.

[01:05.16]His slacks were worn by many American men

[01:08.96]including the 36th U.S. president, Lyndon Johnson.

[01:15.68]Stories like Haggar's are important to the museum's mission

[01:20.60]to show how Arab Americans

[01:23.72]have been part of American life

[01:26.12]since the late 19th century.

[01:29.76]"We communicate the American narrative

[01:32.72]in the voices of Arab Americans.

[01:36.28]They express their experiences

[01:38.68]in their own words," Abouali said.

[01:42.64]"This provides people with a more authentic

[01:46.08]and real representation of what it means

[01:49.68]to be Arab American."

[01:53.08]The museum attempts to share

[01:55.32]the Arab American experience,

[01:57.60]including the path to America, home and work life,

[02:02.52]and service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

[02:07.80]The offerings include an exhibit

[02:10.76]about the hundreds of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants

[02:15.08]in North Dakota between 1890 and World War I.

[02:22.16]Thousands of their descendants

[02:24.20]still live in the north central state today.

[02:28.76]Another exhibit includes lists

[02:31.88]of Arab American passengers

[02:34.28]on the Titanic, which sank in 1912.

[02:40.00]The museum also tries to change

[02:42.76]religious misunderstandings.

[02:45.84]"Half of the Arab American community

[02:48.84]is Christian," Abouali said.

[02:51.84]"And in fact, the earlier immigrants,

[02:55.60]who came in the late 19th century,

[02:58.76]early 20th century, were predominantly Christian."

[03:04.48]A "wall of fame" shows other well-known Arab Americans.

[03:10.12]They include reporter Helen Thomas,

[03:13.72]known as the first woman

[03:15.64]to end a White House press conference by saying,

[03:19.04]"Thank you, Mr. President." Others are actress Kathy Najimy,

[03:25.00]former U.S. Secretary of Health

[03:27.64]and Human Services Donna Shalala,

[03:31.20]and Candace Lightner,

[03:33.96]who founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving in 1980.

[03:40.40]Stories of Arab immigrants

[03:42.80]are often misunderstood among Americans.

[03:47.64]Jasmine Hawamdeh is the director of arts and culture

[03:52.32]at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

[03:57.44]She said people often think of "the angry Arab,

[04:01.44]the terrorist Arab," or are "afraid

[04:04.88]of the Arab that comes from abroad."

[04:08.36]Another harmful idea, she said,

[04:10.96]is "the oppressed Arab woman."

[04:14.60]The museum tries to correct these false narratives

[04:18.28]about Arab Americans.

[04:21.00]But Abouali said the museum also tries to present

[04:26.24]Arab Americans as "ourselves."

[04:30.76]Although Arab Americans come from 22 countries,

[04:34.80]from northern Africa to western Asia,

[04:38.04]she said once they settle in the U.S.,

[04:41.68]they become as American as they are Arab.

[04:46.28]I'm Anna Matteo.

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Words in This Story

exhibit–n. a presentation using models, pictures, screens, and other objects to tell about something

relax –v. to be at ease and to not do work

mission –n. a task or job that requires effort and skill

narrative –n. a story

authentic –adj. real, not false

descendant –n. someone who is related to by blood to an ancestor

predominantly –adv. mainly; for the most part

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