YALLA VOTE ‘08 Our Voice. Our Future.

Last Friday, Yalla Vote was present at an Eid Al-Fitir celebration at the Bint Jbeil Cultural Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The event was hosted by US Chaam Media and Arab American Writers Union. It consisted of speakers ranging from Dr. Jack Shaheen, Rashida Tlaib, Obama Representative, Axil of Evil comedian, Aron Kader, and traditional music singer, Karim Jaber. Dr. Shaheen introduced his documentary “Reel Bad Arabs” and encouraged the attendees to vote. The guest of honor was Syrian actor, Nizar Abu Hajar. He is well-known to play the villain in the popular Syrian show “Bab Al-Hara.” Yalla Vote was there to register more people to vote and recruit volunteers for our new call tool. This new call tool will enable us to call Arab American registered voters in battleground states.  If you are interested in volunteering for this new and exciting phone bank, please sign up here or you can e-mail me at aai-michigan@yallavote.org and let us know!

-Jana

On Tuesday, September 30th, 2008, the Islamic Center of Detroit held a big Eid celebration at their mosque.  Of course, Yalla Vote was  there to register more voters and give them all the information they need to know to vote in this election. Rashida Tlaib,  Arab American and Muslim Outreach person for the Obama Campaign, was also there showing a strong presence and registering more people to vote.  Since the beginning of Ramadan, Yalla Vote has been at a different mosque each week working to register more people to vote and letting Arab Americans know how it is important to let our voices be heard in this election! Election time is nearing and voter registration deadlines are almost here in states around the country. Especially here, in Michigan, THE VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 6th. If you haven’t already registered to vote, do it now before it’s too late!

-Jana

Last Sunday, we had another voter registration table at a church in Farmington Hills, Michigan.  St. Toma Syriac Catholic Church was glad to have us there after their mass. Leaders of the church announced that we were there and if people were not registered to vote, they could register and find out more information at our table. It was great and many of the people were very familiar with AAI and the Yalla Vote campaign considering many of them attended previous festivals where we showed a strong presence in. More people were registered and we were very much welcomed at their church.  Remember the voter registration deadline, Michigan. This is your last week to register to vote!

-Jana

Last week, Yalla Vote was  interviewed by the Boston Globe at the Islamic Center of America in Michigan.  Michael Paulson, a reporter for the Boston Globe, interviewed us regarding the Yalla Vote initiative.  He interviewed our new office intern, Samer Hijazi and I at the mosque about the Yalla Vote campaign’s  mission and our thoughts about how the presidential candidates are reaching out to Arab Americans. During this time, Yalla Vote had a voter registration table at the mosque as we met Mr. Paulson. We were also spreading the word about our new call tool that we will soon be having. This new call tool allows volunteers to call Arab Americans who are registered to vote and remind them on election day to vote. It can be done at your computer and at your convenience!  If you would like to volunteer to make phone calls, e-mail me at aai-Michigan@yallavote.org or call our Michigan office at (313) 945-9221 to get involved.   It  was extremely exciting to get interviewed by them and great for Yalla Vote. Letting our voices be heard is what we are all about!

-Jana

Saturday night was the first of two Candidates’ Nights in Florida. It was co-sponsored by the Center for Voter Advocacy, who did an incredible job. Arabs and Muslims from all over south Florida came to the Signature Grand in Davie to hear candidates speak, have dinner, and talk about how to get involved this election.

Yalla Vote Table

At the Yalla Vote table, we provided literature on the Yalla Vote campaign, as well as opportunities for people to sign up to help with future projects, such as making Get Out The Vote phone calls.

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We are here in Michigan and spreading our wisdom about the importance of this election year. On Friday, September 12, 2008, Yalla Vote had a voter registration and information table at the Islamic House of Wisdom. We were there twice in the same day and let me tell you, it was an exciting time. Yalla Vote received tremendous support that day and because we received so much support, we are even going there a second time! Jenin Salam, a Yalla Vote volunteer and I pushed more than ever for signatures on the National Declaration. Both of us pressed until midnight for signatures! “This is our voice and we have to show it by putting our signatures down,” Jenin said. She also expressed interest and encouraged other young people at the mosque to get involved with Yalla Vote. On my part, I registered more people to vote and spoke more about the Yalla Vote initiative.

Again, if you know a mosque or church we haven’t been at in Michigan, contact me via e-mail at aai-Michigan@yallavote.org and let us know! YALLA VOTE!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of taking a state-wide tour to meet with volunteers, activists, NPC, and ALC members. The trip actually began on Thursday, when Maram Abdelhamid met with the Ramallah Club in Jacksonville.

Friday morning, I headed up to Jacksonville, where we met with Dierdre Connor from the Florida Times Union, who was interviewing Yalla Vote for a diversity piece. That piece was featured in the paper on Tuesday. James Bajalia also met us at the newspaper. After lunch, we met up with Robin Rukab-Azzam and Edna Saffy for tea and some discussion. We also met with Adrian Soud, an Arab American running for judge in Jacksonville. From these meetings, we began planning a candidate night for Jacksonville.

In Orlando, we met with Janan Alawar-Smither and attorney Mark NeJame.

And then it was off to Miami! Unfortunately there were no Will Smith videos being shot, but I think I drove everyone nuts saying “Bienvenido a Miami.” We met with Elizabeth Ayoub in Miami Beach. Then we headed up to Broward County to meet with Ammal Elhaddad and Farooq Mitha from the Center for Voter Advocacy. We also met with Darlene Corey and Toufic Zakharia from MEAPA and talked about voter registration strategies. We are also planning a candidate night in Miami.

Florida is chock-full of Arab Americans running for office, in high positions, and activists ready to make a change.

That being said, make sure you’ve signed the National Declaration, and that we have your contact information to find out about the latest with our candidate nights… And keep an eye out at your local Masjid or Church for Yalla Vote voter registration drives. If you are interested in holding a voter registration drive at your local Masjid, Church, or even Arabic grocery store, send me an e-mail at aai-florida@yallavote.org and we’ll work out the details.

So until next time, I’ll be trying to eat all the oranges I bought driving around the state… There’s nothing like a Florida orange!

-Mia

Thursday, July 30^th, I joined members of the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) at a conference on civic engagement hosted by ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services). The event introduced the attendees—about 40 leaders of various Arab American organizations from around the country—to the REV campaign (Register Educate Vote). AAI’s own Helen Samhan, Executive Director of the AAI Foundation, spoke about the Yalla Vote campaign and how it fits-in with the Network’s get-out-the-vote plans. After hearing Helen’s explanation of Yalla Vote, some Network members in attendance were so enthusiastic they offered us office space in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a chance to create a new internship position in Texas. Way to go, Helen!

AAI President Dr. James Zogby spoke on July 18, 2008 at the City Club of Cleveland– “U.S. Middle East Policy & the 2008 Elections: A Critical Moment” (click here to hear Dr. Zogby’s speech). Later that day, he met with members of the local Arab American community, including members of C.A.M.E.O., AACCESS-Ohio, and AAI Ohio members. Dr. Zogby encouraged the community to become involved in this year’s election and answered questions about his talk that he did not get to answer earlier at the City Club.

St. George Festival in Toledo

St. George’s Church in Toledo, Ohio held its annual festival that same weekend. Although it rained on and off, hundreds came to experience Middle Eastern culture and socialize. And Yalla Vote was there with a table and volunteers collected signatures for the National Declaration and registered voters.

C.A.M.E.O. Annual Picnic

On July 20 in Cleveland, the Cleveland American Middle Eastern Organization had its annual picnic at German Central Farm, inviting members of the Arab American community and local elected officials and candidates. I, along with a few volunteers, was also present collecting signatures and telling people about the Yalla Vote campaign.

Until next time…Yalla Vote!

-Nadia

Florida in July is hot, and Yalla Vote is heating it up even more this summer! With so many ways to get involved this July, you may need to sit in front of the fan just to read this!

Platform Plank Events

Remember when we said that this was OUR VOICE, and OUR FUTURE? Well, Obama and the GOP are putting that to the test by letting the people get involved in the platform writing process. Want to host an event in Florida? Contact Community Relations and me! There are directions on the AAI website that make it very easy to get involved! Want to take part in an existing event in your city? E-mail me at aai-florida@yallavote.org for the latest Florida information.

Sign the Declaration

Chances are, if you’re reading this you’ve already signed the Declaration, but if not, click here to sign it now! And of course, forward it along!

Register to Vote

Here in Florida, the last day to register to vote in the primary election on August 26^th is July 28^th. You can find all the information about elections at the Florida Division of Elections’ website.

Attend a local party meeting

So you’re already registered to vote, holding or attending a plank event, and you’ve gotten the Declaration around to everyone you know? Do some research on your local Democrat or Republican club and go to a meeting. Be sure to let AAI know, and take pictures!

Some links to local political parties follow below. For the most part they meet once a month, and have other events throughout the month.

Volunteer

If we want to make our voices heard, we can’t do it alone! Volunteers are so important to getting the Yalla Vote message out to the community! Whether you have an hour a week or twenty, there is something you can help with! E-mail me at aai-florida@yallvote.org for more information about volunteering - or if you’re not in Florida, e-mail your local organizer!

However you choose to make your voice heard this election, remember, YALLA VOTE!

-Mia

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