Helen Samhan

Ms. Samhan was very interesting and great to listen to. I am not very knowledgeable in the field of Arab Americans, and I think that I feel more educated about the culture after listening to her speak. I learned alot about the history and the culture of the Arabs. They came over to America starting in the 1880s in large waves. Most were from the Ottoman Empire and spoke Arabic. Christians were the minority in the Arab world and most were Muslim, but 95% of the first immigrants came over because they were Christian and wanted to practice Christianity. Her mother was 1 of 5 girls, and her mom wanted her girls to go to school, which was unusual for Arab education practices. Arab women were normally peddlers, and they became business women by making product and selling it, and eventually started opening up shops. America put in an immigration law in the 1920s and only allowed 2% of each population to be admitted. Asians were banned from becoming citizens, they wanted Northern Europeans in America. In 1960, the immigration law changed again, America now let anyone in, and a new wave of Arabs began to immigrate in. They were mostly Muslim and Aab speaking. An Arab feminist movement formed in the 1980s and focused on cultural feminism issues. I learned a lot from the movie that we watched in class, I never realized how Arabs felt after 9/11 and how they are being exploited as terrorists. Ms. Samhan was definitely a different view on leadership than the previous speakers, and it was really a great opportunity to listen to her speak.