Locating Arab Americans in Greater Detroit: An Overview of MENA Archives in Southeast Michigan

Abstract

ABSTRACT Southeast Michigan is home to one of the largest, most highly concentrated populations of people of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent in the United States. This case study includes summaries of MENA-related collections at four separate repositories: the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan, the Arab American National Museum, the Dearborn Historical Museum, and Eastern Michigan University Archives. This region not only provides unparalleled archival holdings, but researchers and archivists are actively working with local MENA communities to create future collections. In this study, staff from each of the four profiled institutions have contributed a summary that links collections across institutions and illustrates the importance of visiting two or more sites to fully understand the region's Arab American community. The authors reveal how researchers can find a rich collection of artifacts and photographs, oral histories, personal papers and organizational records, published materials, and government documents all within a half-hour drive of the Detroit Metro Airport. These collections, which are local, national, and international in scope, make metropolitan Detroit a crucial research site for historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and other scholars examining the life and culture of MENA communities across the United States.