This past weekend in Cleveland, Yalla Vote Ohio held a Civic Empowerment Workshop at the Beit Hanina Social Club, an endorsing organization of the Yalla Vote ‘08 campaign. The event turned out really well, thanks in great part to our numerous excellent speakers.
Find out who came and read more about the workshop… Read the rest of this entry »
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
Today there was an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about Yalla Vote in Cleveland as well as the upcoming C.A.M.E.O (Cleveland American Middle Eastern Organization) annual picnic at which Yalla Vote will have a presence.
Read the full article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer here.
As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I met with the Lakewood Democratic Club a few weeks ago to let them know about Yalla Vote and are initiative to get more Arab Americans involved in the political process. Today I had the opportunity to meet with the Rocky River Republican Club, another suburb of Cleveland that has a high Arab American population. I was given the opportunity to speak to the entire group about the mission of Yalla Vote, the importance of the Arab American vote, and the need for both parties to actively reach out to the Arab American community. Everyone in the group was very receptive and interested in what we’re doing not only in Ohio but throughout the country and very curious about the roles that Arab Americans have played in politics. I even met representatives for a few candidates for local office in Cuyahoga County as well as some of the candidates themselves who came to the meeting to speak to the group. Overall it was a very positive experience and I hope to encourage members of the Cleveland area Arab American community to get involved in both parties this year when it is most important.
Yalla Vote!
This afternoon I had an amazing opportunity to be interviewed by Al Jazeera English, for a story on Arab American voters in this year’s election. They were interested getting some video footage of me doing my work as an AAI Field Organizer. So with the permission of the owners, I took them along with me to a local store, Sahara Supermarket on West 117th Street in Cleveland, where they filmed me talking to customers as they came in about Yalla Vote and about our National Declaration.
Although the store was not very busy so early in the day I was able to get a few signatures for the Declaration and even spoke to a man, who although he is not a citizen and cannot vote in the upcoming election, understands the importance of what we were doing and is going to get his wife involved. I also got the opportunity to speak about Yalla Vote by answering questions about the goals of the campaign, the importance of Arab American involvement in the political process, and how I am working with local organizations to make these goals a reality. I also emphasized that this upcoming election is going to be one of the most important we will ever see and that the issues that concern Arab Americans also concern Americans as a whole. And because these issues are at the forefront of our national debate, it’s even more important to make our voices heard. It was really a great experience for my first time speaking to the media and I hope to get another opportunity to spread awareness about Yalla Vote and get more and more Arab Americans involved.
Yalla Vote!
-Nadia
When asking people to get involved in Yalla Vote the first question that is usually asked is what they would do. So here’s a list of only some of the many ways to get involved…
10. Get involved in the campaign of the candidate of your choice! Campaigns are always looking for more volunteers and you don’t necessarily have to get involved in a presidential campaign. There are plenty of local elections in your area that are also very important.
9. Become a member of your party’s local organizing community! If you affiliated with a particular party get involved in that party locally. This not only allows you to meet people that are politically like minded it also demonstrates how Arab Americans are politically active.
8. Work at a local polling place on Election Day! Not only do you usually get paid to work a polling place it is a great experience and is especially important in areas with a large Arab American community.
7. Make calls on Election Day to get out the Arab American vote!
6. If you are a student work with organizations on campus to get others involved!
5. Vote! Make sure that you are registered to vote a month before the election on November 4 and remember to vote either ahead of time or on Election Day (which of course depends on the election laws in your state and county).
4. Sign the National Petition! The Petition not only tells the presidential candidates what issues are important to us, but also tells them that we base our vote in November on those issues.
3. Register other Arab Americans to vote! While every vote counts the more votes that Arab Americans cast the more our voice can be heard.
2. Get others to sign the National Petition! The more signatures we collect the better and the louder our voice will be.
And most importantly…
1. Tell everyone you know about Yalla Vote and encourage them to get involved!
-Nadia
Last Friday was my first time trying to collect signatures at a local mosque, the Islamic Center of Cleveland, after Friday prayer. I was as prepared as I could be in the circumstances. I had two clipboards: one for voter registration and another for the National Petition. Unfortunately I was not able to collect as many signatures as I would have liked. This mosque is one of the largest mosques in the area and has three entrances/exits and I only had one other person helping me. So the two of us did the best we could trying to have people sign the petition as they were coming out of the mosque.
Based on this experience I have learned that I should have ALL of the following for the next time…
Although I did not have the opportunity to talk to as many individuals as I would have liked to, the individuals that I did get the chance to speak to all signed the petition and now I know what works and what doesn’t… and each time I’ll get more and more signatures!
Yalla Vote!
-Nadia
This week I have had the opportunity to meet many people who seem to be really excited about what AAI and Yalla Vote are doing. I spent a few hours on Monday going around to a few Arab American businesses in the area asking them to keep copies of the National Petition in their stores and ask their customers to sign it. With the exception of one, all of the stores were glad to do it. (So if you live in the area and have not signed the Petition…just stop by your local Arabic store or restaurant to sign it)
I grew up in a household where the majority of the dinner table conversation revolved around the politics of the day. In fact, to my family, politics is second only to religion. One of my dad’s favorite sayings is that, “Decisions are made by those who get involved.” Which is true. Those individuals who take the time to vote, get active in a campaign, or in any other way get involved in the political process ultimately determine who represents us not only in our cities and states but also our country. These elected officials in turn make policy decisions that affect every one of us. And if these elected officials want to get reelected they will be more than willing to listen to what his or her constituents want.
While it may seem that those who are currently in these offices do not listen to the concerns of our community or even care about what we want, part of the blame lies with us. We can’t just expect them to know what we want. We have to tell them what we want. We have to tell them that we want our Constitutional freedoms protected. That we want a United States foreign policy that is fair and just and that promotes human rights. While there is no guarantee that a particular candidate will win or that our concerns will ultimately be addressed it is much more likely to happen if we take the time to get involved. As one of my dad’s bumper stickers says, “Get involved…the world is run by those who show up.”
This year is our chance to have our voices heard. Many of the issues that are important to our community are important issues in the election (i.e. the War in Iraq, United States image abroad, and civil liberties). So vote, sign our National Petition, and even more importantly… get involved!
Yalla Vote!!
-Nadia
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
My first week as a Field Organizer in Cleveland is almost over and I’ve already learned so much about the Arab American community here from the local businesses to the organizations that bring the community together. I’m looking forward to meeting with some of these organizations next week and working with them throughout the election season and beyond to get the Arab American community politically active. All of the people that I have spoken to seem really excited about what we’re going to be doing.
Last night I had the opportunity to go the the monthly meeting of the Lakewood Democratic Club. (Lakewood is a Cleveland area city that has a very high population of Arab Americans and is therefore a great place to get Arab Americans involved.) This particular meeting was for their bi-annual elections but they did give me the opportunity to speak to the group. I explained that the Institute is working to bring Arab Americans into both parties coordinated campaigns so that they can become politically active and empowered. At the end of the meeting several people came up to me to say that they are really excited about what the Arab American Institute is doing and that they look forward to having more Arab Americans in the community become involved in their efforts. I even met two local Arab Americans who are already involved in the group and who informed me about events in the community this summer. In about a week I plan to attend the monthly meeting of the Brooklyn Republican Club Meeting (another area city that has a high population of Arab Americans) and I hope that they will be just as excited about what we’re doing and that members of the community are interested in getting involved.
-Nadia
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