Category: CULTURE
Dearborn’s Ali Charafeddine Shares Success Mindset and Promotes Knowledge through Acez Top Ten Takeaways
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94W0F9T0PQ4 Ali Charafeddine is a young Arab-American Entrepreneur, currently a Senior Director of Banking at Quicken Loans, and the founder and CEO of Acez Media. Ali started his entrepreneurial career sponsoring events during his Highschool years (Fordson High School). He then grew a distribution business with his brothers into a $1.4 million company. He represents ...
Upcoming Screenings of Then They Came in Dearborn
https://vimeo.com/210002629 This award-winning film is about the internment of Japanese Americans during WW II, with free screenings in April in Dearborn and Ann Arbor. Please join us for Michigan Screenings of And Then They Came for Us Tuesday April 24, 2018 Dearborn Public Library 16301 Michigan Ave, Dearborn 7-9 pm Reserve your FREE tickets https://goo.gl/CYCg7r ...
Hadi Eldebek on Why Must Artists Be Poor? and Grantpa
https://www.ted.com/talks/hadi_eldebek_how_artists_contribute_to_the_economy_and_how_we_can_support_them?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare The arts bring meaning to our lives and spirit to our culture -- so why do we expect artists to struggle to make a living? Hadi Eldebek is working to create a society where artists are valued through an online platform that matches artists with grants and funding opportunities -- so they can focus ...
Adnan Beydoun: Our Cultural Forums Have Become Dancers For New Gods of Politics and Business
He was introduced by Ambassador Dr. Ali Ajami: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxJIsmR9IvU Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mVUkCufk80 Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmiHmEoPRv8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmiHmEoPRv8 Dearborn Open Mic takes place first Wednesday of every month at the Arab American National Museum. Follow us on all these platforms: Dearborn Open Mic Podcast for Apple devices: http://ift.tt/2p8w2gK Podcast for Android device: http://ift.tt/2DncbPd Blog: Dearbornblog.com Website: Dearbornblog.com/openmic ...
Nisreen Faraj Criticizes Nationalism and Bragging Among Arab Americans
Through her poem, Like You And Me, recited in the Dearborn Open Mic, on Wednesday February 7, 2018, at the Arab American Museum, Nisreen criticized how each Arab nationality in Dearborn think they are better than the other Arab nationalities. Listen to her here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8kObmSEXjs Dearborn Open Mic is a platform for artists, ...
Ahmed Al-Ansari Discusses His PhD Dissertation about Iraqi Identity in Dearborn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFiQZfFEzXA A full lecture by Ahmed Al-Ansari is coming soon to Dearborn Open Mic.
ART INSTALLATION ASKS VIEWERS TO HELP REVIVE UNIVERSITY OF BAGHDAD FINE ARTS LIBRARY
Iraqi American artist transforms grief over cultural loss into a call to action Concurrent presentations in Dearborn, Mich. and Taiwan Dearborn, Mich. (Nov. 16, 2017) – During the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led coalition in 2003, the College of Fine Arts at the University of Baghdad lost its entire library to looters who set ...
Serving Time At Gas Station – Part 1
Did you serve your time? That is the nick name given to working in a gas station when you first immigrate to Dearborn or first start looking for a job as a young Arab American. Although Gas Station Attendant is rated as one of the most dangerous jobs in America, Arab Americans, in Michigan specially, ...
Del Taco Receipt Analysis
https://youtu.be/DZ_1p1k7UtI
Coming out
You know how sexuality is such a taboo topic to discuss in many parts around the world but it especially is one in our Middle Eastern community. Now, sexual orientation is even a bigger taboo to come near to than sexuality in general is. Western societies have not come completely in peace with it either. ...
Acculturation
A well-known model of acculturation comes from John Berry, a psychologist and theorist, famous for the four-fold model of acculturation strategies. He theorizes that immigrants and immigrant communities generally follow one of four strategies in adapting to their new community. They either assimilate, separate, integrate, or marginalize. Briefly, assimilation is when the immigrant or the ...
HOT Syrian music artists @AANM in October
Greetings! I hope this finds you well. The Arab American National Museum (AANM) is pleased to welcome leading Syrian American performers for concerts on Friday, Oct. 20 and Monday, Oct. 23. Below you’ll find a press release for the Oct. 20 Global Fridays appearance by Hello Psychaleppo; attached are photo of the artist, whose given ...
A Woman’s Right to Move
When I was in eighth grade my teacher had us write down our goals for high school. My number one goal was to get accepted to the University of Michigan. I was unsure why I wanted to attend the institution so bad. Nobody in my immediate family had attended and I actually knew very little ...
Ambassador of Poetry … Dr. Ali Ajami
Ambassador Dr. Ali Ajami advocates for Arabic Poetry through his attendance and participation in various literacy forums among which is Dearborn Open Mic.
Love Always Wins At The End, Poem by Alaa Barakat
The world has stood against me once It told me I was not welcome To run on its grounds To seek a dream I once had The world was tough and mean But I didn’t let it distract me From the journey I have already started The world did not change its mind immediately About ...
Multicultural Match
So, one day you meet this guy on Match.com. He’s quiet. He’s interesting. He’s worldly and open minded. Oh, and did I mention he’s gorgeous? How is it possible this beautiful guy isn’t already snatched up? And how is it possible that he’s smitten with you? This is what I thought 13 years ago when ...
Nick Vujicic in Arabic by Haidar Mazen
No arms, no legs - no worries! Nick Vujicic uses his story to inspire and inform people all around the world. Nick is an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome,[4] a rare disorder characterized by the absence of arms and legs. He is one of the seven known surviving individuals planet-wide ...
Racism Smiles On S. Brady by Yasmine Badaoui
Yasmine Badaoui is a free lance writer, and she is an editor in Miss Muslim.She has a bachelors degree in Psychology from Iowa State University. Yasmine recited her poem at the Dearborn Open Mic last Wednesday that talks about the controversial Statue of Hubbard and the discussion of its removal from Dearborn.
Amer Zahr … Activism Through Comedy and Writing
Amer Zahr is an Arab-American of Palestinian descendant. He is known for his stand-up comedian, writer, filmmaker, producer, adjunct law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy, and former lawyer. He was born in Jordan to refugee parents of Palestinian heritage originally from Nazareth and then moved to the United States when he was three ...
Dearborn Open Mic … The Artistic Oasis in Arab American Dearborn
"Dearborn has a consortium of Arabic poets, Young Artists, and Arab American creative writing talents, that it should be considered an intellectual and artistic center, if it wasn't for the lack of that expression in the community. We are going to change that."
The Argeeli Romance
I was sitting in a café with a friend of mine. We both ordered our argeeli (another name for the hookah or shisha). These are water pipes, and are used to smoke flavored or straight tobacco. I ordered mine mint flavored, dried, with a glass of Perrier and he ordered a grape mint argeeli and a glass ...
Endangered Art
Imagine a world without art. No Rembrandt, no Hemingway, no Kubrick, no J.S. Bach, not even “Cirque du Soleil”. As scary is that may sound, let us imagine for a moment that artistic imagination isn’t a human characteristic. Is it possible then, that we would lose our inspiration, and the compass of our humanity or ...
“Too Religious”
Discouragement from Muslims towards other Muslims practicing religion is common in Dearborn and overlooked often.
Empower Your Child’s Future
It’s more important now than ever to empower children by giving them the tools they need to develop their own identity and life skills.
Five Events To Attend in Dearborn In The Next Couple Weeks
As we enjoy the last month in the summer of 2017, five events are coming up in Dearborn that you probably want to take advantage off:
Let’s Keep our Lawns Clean
A few nights a week, I choose to spend my time at my mom's. She lives alone and I like to keep her company every now and then. My mom who lives in Dearborn loves her plants and her lawn but due to weakened knees, she doesn't always get the chance to cut the grass ...
Missionary in Dearborn, Freedom of Speech or Proselytizing Children Without Parental Consent?
Missionary in Dearborn, Freedom of Speech or Proselytizing Children Without Parental Consent? Let us know in your comments below.
Urban Politics: Prospects for Metro Detroit
There is hope for equitable and resilient solutions in the complex metropolitan relationship but until then, addressing the honest root causes of the friction is the first step.
The Pollution Series: Noise Pollution in Dearborn
The Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States to promote an environment for all Americans free from noise that jeopardizes their health or welfare. To that end, it is the purpose of this chapter to establish a means for effective coordination of Federal research and activities in noise control, to authorize ...
The Fight Against Selective Activism Starts At Home
Addressing the problem is the first step to solving it and in Dearborn, that problem is one of arrogance and a lack of empathy that has some people forgetting their roots.
Come Support Wayne County Transit!
In Dearborn, transit is both useful but limited - it carries a lot of potential, but is often constrained by political and social divisions.
Being black and Arab in Dearborn
"We are always talking about how there is so much racism towards the Arab community, but never talk about the racism in it."
Coming Together
I sat down on a Wednesday evening thinking of what I can possibly write about. There are many topics to choose from, and despite that, I found myself unable to focus on one to start with. However, amid such a hostile political environment our world is going through, and such a growing division between people ...
The Happenings at Common Grace Coffee CO.
At Common Grace Coffee Co. our motto is simple; we are for the city, for the craft, and for the world. What we mean by that is that we want foster community in the city of Dearborn using the culinary craft of coffee and the things that surround coffee to impact the world we live in.
Dearborn Open Mic Brings The Arab American Poets of Dearborn Together
Ranging from immigrant strife, yearning to homeland, expressing Middle East political struggles, to love and passion poetry, poets from Dearborn gather in the first Open Mic in Dearborn that focuses on Arab American poetry, creative writing, short story, and artistic expression.
Pride, Tradition, Legacy: Fordson High School, A Microcosm of Arab-American Diaspora (1/2)
There was the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is not so much an expose, as it is a meditation on what I now consider a unique experience that I could have only received at Fordson.
What’s in A Sign?
One of the things I often find myself paying attention to, whether I am here in Dearborn or visiting a new place, is the attention to detail that businesses put into signage and the design of storefronts or window displays.
Poet Ali Alsendy Recites A Poem About Iftar Food Pictures in Dearborn Open Mic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK0M9e7dAwk
A Yemeni-American Experience
If you were to enter my neighborhood, you might be either shocked or feel very at home, Here are some things you would notice....
Why Our Jokes on Mental Health are Unintentionally Destroying Lives
Even though mental health is slowly becoming more normalized in our community, the jokes haven't stopped.
Dearborn Muslims Approach Summer with High Spirits and a Renewed State of Being
Most Dearborn schools have been out for about a week and some college spring classes have come to a close. The city celebrated the end of the Holy month of Ramadan and celebrated Eid Al-Fitr on Saturday for some and Sunday for others.
Dearborn Arabic Open Mic – Bashar Darwish – فضحتنا صفحات الماء في شط العرب
Dearborn Arabic Open Mic – Bashar Darwish – فضحتنا صفحات الماء في شط العرب
Dearborn Arabic Open Mic – Nisreen Faraj – We Judge – 4-12-17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6FFsX9zr94
The Ugly Cousin Scoop: “Dear Dearborn Heights…”
They say sarcasm is anger’s ugly cousin. And cheating’s ugly cousin is flirting, or so I’ve heard. Well, Dearborn has an ugly cousin too. About as ugly as a festering boil on the red side of a baboon’s ass. Well, maybe not THAT ugly. But certainly that inflamed. Fellow outsiders, I introduce to you: the ...
The Islamic Centers Scoop: Five Customs That Are Unique To Dearborn Mosques
Dearborn, Michigan is home to highest concentration of Arabs outside of the Middle East, as well as the greatest number of Islamic institutions in the Western world. These centers and organizations have been invaluable in serving the Muslim community and in keeping Islamic traditions alive and active. Muslims throughout the Americas and Europe have envied ...
The LA-AH Scoop: The Many Ways To Say “No” In Dearborn
No means no! We all know that. But “yes” can also mean no. So can “maybe”. So can “inshallah”. So can “of course! I’ll be there!” Outsiders, I’m sure you’re confused. But Dearborners know exactly what I’m talking about. In a word, there are so many ways to say “no” in Dearborn that we’ve forgotten ...
” Beirut, I Love You ” booktrailer for Zena el Khalil
Beirut I Love You is Zena el Khalil’s rollicking yet tender memoir about living in a city that thrives on contrasts and contradictions. This is the story of Zena, a young woman who has fallen under the spell of a city that threatens to engulf her in war, grief and love affairs. In the streets armed militias ...
The Death Camp Scoop: Confessions Of An Arabic School Survivor
Previously, I touched upon the horrific institution of Arabic School as a last resort for parents who want to discipline their kids. Of course, that is an exaggeration. Arabic School is not meant to punish kids. It’s meant to serve a number of far greater purposes, such as language education, cultural awareness, and religious foundation. ...
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