Over the many years that I spent researching and writing this book, I was fortunate enough to receive extraordinary support from many institutions, colleagues, and friends. Any success that this project may enjoy is shared with everyone who contributed to it, and all the shortcomings in this work are entirely my responsibility. Completing this book has been the most rewarding professional experience of my life, and it would not have been possible even to begin without the generosity and patience of the sixty-two advocates who, despite the tremendous demands on their time, agreed to meet with me for lengthy interviews. Without exception, these dedicated, impassioned civil rights advocates trusted in me and engaged in sometimes-challenging conversations. My greatest hope is that they find what I’ve written here somehow useful.
The roots of this project extend back to the year 2000, when I traveled on a study abroad program to Jerusalem under the direction of my mentor and dear friend, Len Berkey. I met Len a few years earlier in his Introduction to Sociology course, where he encouraged me to study race and ethnicity. He eventually recruited me to join the Great Lakes Jerusalem Program, an innovative and unique course of study in Israel/Palestine developed by the late Tony Bing. During my time in the Holy Land, I realized that, despite seriously studying race for years, I had never encountered any scholarly work specifically written about Arab Americans or Muslim Americans. This struck me as odd, because of course these communities have long dealt with bigotry and discrimination. Upon my return to the US in December 2000, I resolved to learn more. On Len’s advice, I started reading the work of scholars like Michael Suleiman, Suad Joseph, and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad. This only whet my desire to better understand the way that race and racism affect these communities, and that is what led me to pursue graduate study in sociology a few years later. Thank you, Len.
At the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), I had the good fortune to have Howard Winant, a scholar who needs no introduction, as my mentor. He graciously took me under his wing, and over many hours of discussion and debate, the ideas that form the foundation of this manuscript began to emerge. Howie was patient and kind, and he was a dedicated advisor who always went out of his way to make sure I was making the most of every opportunity. His leadership is the only reason this project got off the ground and stayed in the air for more than a decade. Thank you, Howie.
I am also deeply indebted to many other professors at UCSB who advised me and guided the development of this research. In particular, I want to thank Lisa Hajjar, John Mohr, Kathleen Moore, and G. Reginald Daniel for their thoughtful guidance and advice over many years.
Thanks to everyone at New York University Press, most especially to Ilene Kalish for her patience and trust in this project. Special thanks also to Caelyn Cobb for her dedication and expertise, Jodi Narde for her careful and thoughtful attention to detail, and to Dorothea Halliday for bringing it all together.
I must also thank the institutions that gave financial support to this research. This project would not have been possible without the support of a grant from the National Science Foundation. I also thank the Richard Flacks Fund for the Study of Democratic Possibilities, the UCSB Graduate Division and Sociology Department, the University of California Center for New Racial Studies, and the Dickinson College Research and Development Committee for their generous support. Thanks also to the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding for allowing me to serve as a fellow. Of course, my analysis and opinions as expressed herein do not reflect in any way upon these institutions.
I’m deeply grateful to Jessica Cobb for her careful review and extensive help with developing this manuscript. For lending their special research talents, for giving thoughtful feedback on drafts, and for their transcendent and insightful advice, I want to extend very special thanks to these great friends and superb scholars: Shawn Bender, Neda Maghbouleh, Bob Ngo, Amy Steinbugler, and Ed Webb. I also thank several anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. For research assistance, I thank Savannah-Grace Leeman.
Special thanks to Medhi Bozorgmehr and Anny Bakalian, the co-founders of the City University of New York’s Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center—a unique and important institution. They extended me gracious invitations to speak and participate in various colloquia, and Mehdi took a keen interest in my work very early on. He has been overflowing with support and guidance for many years, and I am deeply grateful.
At UCSB, I was privileged to take part in a vibrant community of scholars. So many friends and colleagues touched my life and contributed to this project, and I want to thank them all. In particular, I thank Carlos Alamo-Pastrana, Reza Aslan, Nura Azzam, Yousef Baker, Hillary Blackerby, Krista Bywater, Clayton Childress, Magda Campo, Joseph Conti, Brianne Dávila, Francesca Degiuli, Maryam Griffin, Melissa Guzman, Katrina Kimport, Daraka Larimore-Hall, Lisa Leitz, Patrick Lopez-Aguado, Devin Molina, Moira O’Neil, Rachel Parker, Greg Prieto, Dwight Reynolds, Elena Richardson, Jennifer Rogers, César Rodríguez, Christine Shearer, Jessica Taft, Emily Tumpson Molina, James Walsh, and Kevin Whitehead.
At Dickinson College, I have joined an excellent community of scholars and teachers, and I am extremely grateful to the support and friendship of my colleagues in the Sociology Department and the Middle East Studies Program. In particular, I want to thank David Commins, Vickie Kuhn, Susan Rose, Dan Schubert, and Ted Pulcini. Many other friends and colleagues in and around Carlisle, Pennsylvania, have been supportive of my work in so many ways, and in particular I want to thank Suman Ambwani, Jennifer Bryson, Derek Mancini-Lander, Harry Pohlman, Eric Schaefer, and Jennifer Schaefer. Thanks also to the many excellent students who have challenged and inspired me, and who have contributed their passion and their ideas to the study of race and civil rights.
During the final stages of writing this book, I was fortunate enough to join the Sociology Department at Temple University as a visiting scholar. Thanks to everyone at Temple who extended a warm welcome, and to those who attended the colloquium where we discussed my work, I extend a special thank you. Extra special thanks to Kimberly Goyette and Sherri Grasmuck.
While I was in Detroit for some of my earliest research interviews, the staff at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, provided me with a base of support and allowed me to work as a volunteer docent. They re-introduced me to my hometown and helped in many other ways to jump-start this research. Thanks to everyone there.
In Washington, DC, where I did the bulk of my research, I relied on a network of dear friends and allies. I am particularly indebted to Nancy Astifo, Jeff Boyd, Reema Dodin, Brigitte Dubois, Yousra Fazili, Arlene Fetizanan, Alison Hathaway, Rahul Mittal, and Anjali Thakur-Mittal. The staff at all of the organizations where I spent time were extremely helpful, and I want to thank everyone who worked with me, offered me tea, and laughed at my jokes. In fact, I even thank those who did not laugh at my jokes.
I also want to thank colleagues at various conferences and workshops where I received valuable feedback on some of the thoughts that made their way into this volume. I want to thank the late Michael Suleiman for somehow finding my work and inviting me to join a conference he organized in Kansas—one of the greatest honors of my life. I also thank Amaney Jamal and Sally Howell for inviting me to participate in their innovative workshop. At these and other meetings, I learned from some of the most influential and brilliant scholars working in this area, including Hisham Aidi, Richard Alba, Kristine Ajrouch, Mucahit Bilici, Louise Cainkar, Edward Curtis IV, Carol Haddad, Nancy Foner, Sarah Gualtieri, Juliane Hammer, Deepa Iyer, Annie Lai, Karen Leonard, Amir Marvasti, Karyn D. McKinney, Debra Minkoff, Ann Morning, Nadine Naber, Dina Okamoto, Jen’nan Ghazal Read, Helen Samhan, Andrew Shryock, and John Tehranian.
Many friends and fellow travelers have contributed to this project, especially Trevor Aaronson, Noorjahan Akbar, Wajahat Ali, Hani Bawardi, Khaled Beydoun, Jennifer Carlson, Randa Kayyali, Sonal Nalkur, Saher Selod, R. Tyson Smith, Rita Stephan, and Stephen Steinberg. And for his wisdom, encouragement, and feedback on early drafts, I extend a special thanks to my brother from another mother, my oldest and most cherished friend, Ian Douglass.
Finally, I thank my family. My parents, Robert and Sue, have given everything they have to their children. They are my heroes. My sisters, Katie and Melissa, and my sister-in-law, Erin, have always been there for me, even as they pursue their dreams and achieve many remarkable accomplishments. I am so proud of them. I hope to live up to their example in all that I do.
And to Helene, my awe-inspiring partner for more than ten years, I love you. Not only did you guide and support my work, and read through even my worst drafts, you also took care of me. You have given me more than you’ll ever know. Words will never fully express my gratitude, so I will simply say thank you.