"Our Blood Is Not Cheap": A Photovoice Project on Being Arab in a Racialized U.S

Background and Purpose: While the racialization of Arabs in the U.S. dates back to the late 19^th century, it was not until 1967 that Arabs were politically and socially viewed as “other,” thereby promoting the structural exclusion of Arab Americans. The events of 9/11 complicated these views further by creating a mainstream narrative that Islam as a religion was dangerous (Kaufman & Niner, 2019). This led to increased racial profiling and harassment, particularly of young men, who were perceived to “look Muslim” regardless of their actual religious background. This rhetoric and hate were heightened again during the Trump campaign and presidency as he encouraged anti-Muslim sentiment and enacted the “Muslim ban” in 2017 by signing an executive order blocking Syrian refugees and citizens of seven predominately Muslim countries. The xenophobic and anti-Arab/Muslim racism that culminated during the Trump presidency resulted in a continued “othering” process endorsed by the political state.

Methods: This community based participatory research (CBPR) project uses photovoice as a methodology to understand the lived experiences of Arab Americans. CBPR equitably involves community members in the research process. Photovoice uses photography and discussion as a tool for social change and advocacy. Photovoice provides the opportunity for participants to document, analyze, and reflect on personal and community issues related to the research questions. The research questions were developed in collaboration with the community partner, Arab American Family Services (AAFS). AAFS also assisted in the recruitment process, resulting in a total of 9 participants, who were invited to an orientation session that included an overview of ethics regarding confidentiality and the photos, as well as the instructions to take photos that reflected their experience as Arab Americans and/or Muslims in regard to identity and access to services. After the photographs were taken, the participants were invited to a discussion group where they presented the photos to each other, discussed the meaning, and responded to each other’s photos. The discussion groups were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed along with the photos utilizing thematic analysis.

Results: The findings from the photo sharing sessions underscore the continued challenge of identity and representation, in (visibility), and pushing back against anti-Arab/anti/ Muslim racism. The findings also underscore religion as a protective factor against structural and systemic racism. Islamophobia, racialization, anti-immigrant laws, and barriers to access were among the challenges discussed. The participants also focused on the impact of Islamophobia on the children in the school setting, bullying experiences in the schools, and the fear of expressing their identity in the school setting. Conversely, the participants discussed their desire to fight against white supremacy and oppression, allyship, the need for institutional accountability, and the resilience of the Arab American population.

Conclusions and Implications: Overall, the participants of this study demonstrated their community resilience and navigational capital as they survived and thrived in the midst of racializing experiences and microaggressions. Implications of this work include the need for increased consciousness raising about the lived experiences of the Arab American community and opportunities for allyship and advocacy.