The Rise of the Arab American Left

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328 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 10 halftones, notes, bibl., index

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-3098-4
Published: February 2017
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-5103-1
Published: February 2017
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-1-4696-3099-1
Published: February 2017
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-3097-7
Published: February 2017

Justice, Power, and Politics

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Justice, Power, and Politics Website

Awards & distinctions

2018 Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award, Arab American Book Awards

In this first history of Arab American activism in the 1960s, Pamela Pennock brings to the forefront one of the most overlooked minority groups in the history of American social movements. Focusing on the ideas and strategies of key Arab American organizations and examining the emerging alliances between Arab American and other anti-imperialist and antiracist movements, Pennock sheds new light on the role of Arab Americans in the social change of the era. She details how their attempts to mobilize communities in support of Middle Eastern political or humanitarian causes were often met with suspicion by many Americans, including heavy surveillance by the Nixon administration. Cognizant that they would be unable to influence policy by traditional electoral means, Arab Americans, through slow coalition building over the course of decades of activism, brought their central policy concerns and causes into the mainstream of activist consciousness.

With the support of new archival and interview evidence, Pennock situates the civil rights struggle of Arab Americans within the story of other political and social change of the 1960s and 1970s. By doing so, she takes a crucial step forward in the study of American social movements of that era.

About the Author

Pamela Pennock is associate professor of history at the University of Michigan–Dearborn.
For more information about Pamela E. Pennock, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"A work of impressive scope, cogency, precision and credibility, one that breaks new ground in Arab-American studies and will be a key scholarly resource for years to come."--Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

“[Pennock] writes with intelligence and makes relevant the early effort of radical young Arab Americans who organized themselves and made alliances with other sections of the movement in the ‘60s and the ‘70s. . . . A much needed and definitive book that makes the historical connections of these developments and advances our common struggle for equality and justice.”--Mondoweiss

“Readers will emerge with details of Arab-American political efforts in their local communities as they began integrating the issues emerging from their homeland with mistreatment in the US.”--Middle East Journal

“Must reading for anyone seeking to understand Arab-American political and social movements....its accessible style and broad scope should attract general attention from anyone seeking to understand the volatile decades of the 1960s to 1980s.”--The Michigan Historical Review

“I am pleased to recommend Pamela Pennock’s worthwhile contribution to the literature on social and political movements, in particular the participation of Arab Americans.”--Race & Class

“Expands our understanding of the transnational dimensions, local constraints, and shifting historical contexts of Palestinian political struggle. . . . Makes for essential reading.”--International Journal of Middle East Studies