Famous Arab-Americans
Matt Salloum
April 24, 2003
A29635799
What have Arab-Americans really done for the United States of
America? Many people think that all Arabs are terrorists and horrible
people. All that they do is blow up buildings and cause trouble for the
world; a terrible stereotype. Now, we should all know that this is
untrue. Arabic people have done much for this country and people
should realize the beauty of their culture. By listening to the top 40
countdown, or eating a bowl of Flutie Flakes, Arabs are in more places
than you think. Arabs do get bad publicity and have a bad reputation.
Arabic history is not the dictatorship of Saddam Huessin and is not the
terrorist acts committed by Osama Bin Laden, the history goes back
many years and many great people have come out of it. Great ArabAmericans include Doug Flutie, Casey Kasem, Ralph Nader, and Paula
Abdul (cpack 21-32). Even though they have gone unnoticed, ArabAmericans have done a great deal for our country.
“Ignorance about Arab Americans among North Americans at large
means that, before looking at more detailed accounts of the ArabAmerican experience, we may benefit from a quick review of Arab
immigration to North America and what the Arab-Americans
communities here have been like” (Suleiman 1).
This quote shows that many current Americans know
nothing about the Arabic heritage. Thus, all they know comes
from watching it on the news. Much of this coverage is bad, so
Arab-Americans suffer with all the media
Why do Arabs have a bad reputation?
 I believe that all the bad
things are the only thing
that make the news.
 Media craves disasters.
 Middle East is a big area
and has many problems,
the war between the
Palestinians and Jews is
all that you hear about.
What can be done?
There needs to be
more Arabic leaders.
American people need
to be educated more.
We need to
concentrate on good
news more, not bad
news.
Is that why Americans do not
know about Arabs in the U.S.?
I think that it is a reason.
Many people do not think about who
comes from what country.
People look to Hollywood for
entertainment, Arabs are just not in the
picture.
Americans tend to learn things from the
television.
This is a time where I will explain how
important Arab-Americans have been to our
country. They have done great things and we
should look at where they have come from. Some
of the ones, that I have selected, include Doug
Flutie, Casey Kasem, Ralph Nader, and Paula
Abdul. They all have done great things and we
should look at them more closely. There are many
more that have done great things, these are just a
few that can be researched.
Doug Flutie
Doug Flutie is the first
person talked about.
Professional football
player.
Set up an autism
charity.
Doug Flutie is one of the most interesting football
players ever to play the game. Born October 23, 1962, he was
not a son that was born to play professional football (4). He
comes from Lebanese descent, but was born in Manchester, MD
(4). When he was full grown, he stood at 5’10’’, which is not a
football players build. He was told that he was too small and
slow, but he was never the one to back down from a challenge.
He went to Boston College, there he made national news and
broke record books. Not known for his size, rather known for
ability and leadership. Alabama coach, Ray Perkins said,
“Flutie’s special magic is not in running or even in passing but
in his ability to make a play out of nothing(4).”
Records set
Four years at Boston
College.
Has career record for
yards passing 10,579.
Best known for the
throw against Miami.
Heisman Trophy
winner.
One of the greatest games in the history was won by Doug
Flutie. With time going down, Flutie unloaded a 60 yard Hail Mary
TD pass that was caught as Boston College beat Miami 47-45(4).
That pass that he made marked his whole career.
After being a highly talked about quarterback, Flutie was
chosen in the NFL Draft. He was selected in the 11th round by the
Los Angeles Rams (4). But, he was also selected by the rival
league, USFL, by the New Jersey Generals (4). As he was traded
from team to team in the NFL, he was benched in the USFL as
teams merged (4). NFL and USFL were rivals, USFL went under
and the NFL was the only professional league in the country (9).
Stats
1988 - New England
Patriots.
11 games 1,150 yards
and 8 Td's.
1989 - five games,
then released at the
end of the season.
1990, joined the
Canadian Football
League (CFL).
Rewrote the record
books, in 1998 his
dream came true.
493 yards and 2 Td's.
*All stats from bib number 4.
Great career in the CFL, won Most Outstanding Player
6 times in 8 years (4). In 1998, he got the starting job for the
Buffalo Bills (4). Started five games into the season, led the
Bills to a 7-3 record. He lead the Bills to a playoff spot and
earned two awards; Pro Bowl selection and NFL Comeback
Player of the year (4). Last season, Flutie was traded to San
Diego and benched. But, he will always be remembered for
what he did in Buffalo, the CFL, and at Boston College.
Flutie Foundation
Doug Flutie’s son, Doug
Jr., was born with Autism. To
help learn more about the disease
and help his son, he set up this
foundation. The Doug Flutie Jr.
Foundation for Autism is a great
charity, some money from Flutie
Flakes go to this foundation (8).
It can be visited at:
http://www.dougflutiejrfoundatio
n.org/
Doug Flutie has done some great things for this
country. He had entertained many people, at his days at
Boston College, to the USFL, to the CFL, and finally to the
NFL. He has done some amazing things and he thank him
for that. One of the best things anyone could ever do is set
up a foundation and try to help many people with the same
conditions. Doug Flutie is a great Arab-American and the
world is better with him.
Ralph Nader
Consumer advocate
Lawyer
Author
Presidential
Candidate.
Ralph Nader was born Winsted, Connecticut on
February 27, 1934 (6). He had a regular childhood, but he
was known to be very smart. In 1955, he received a magna
cum laude from Princeton University, and in 1958 he
received a LLB from Harvard University (6). At first, he
started off as a lawyer. He began as a lawyer in Hartford,
Connecticut. At the University of Hartford he lectured on
government and history in 1959 and from 1961-63 (6). He
received the Nieman Fellows award in 1965-66 and was
named one of ten Outstanding Young Men of Year by the
U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1967(6).
Organizations/Books - set
up or help set up
 American Antitrust Institute
 Unsafe at Any Speed
 Center for Auto Safety
 Corporate Power in America
(with Mark Green)
 Center for Justice and
Democracy
 Public Citizen (largest)
 Clean Water Action Project
 Equal Justice Foundation
 And many more.
 You and Your Pension (with
Kate Blackwell)
 The Lemon Book
 Who's Poisoning America (with
Ronald Brownstein and John
Richard)
 And many more.
*Information from bib number 6.
Green Party
One of the most important times in Ralph Nader’s life was
when he ran for President in November of 2000. He started his
own party, called the Green Party (7). He had many followers,
but was did not get the support to become a legitimate party. I
political party needs 5% of the vote to become a party (7). The
Green Party was not successful for some reasons. It was opposed
to all the Democratic and Republican viewpoints (7). It basically
was the opposite of the parties and Nader was quoted as saying
Republicans and Democrats were the same party (7). He is a
environmentalist and many people are against that kind of
thinking. Nader wanted to be different and have a new political
party. He had many supporters, especially on college campuses
across the country. But, it never took off to the older voters
Ralph Nader has done many things for this
country. Not only has he setup, or help setup, clubs and
foundations, he has written many books, and even ran for
President of the United State in 2000. He is a great ArabAmerican and a good leader. Even though his party did
not reach the plateau that he wanted, he still is considered
a hero to many people.
Paula Abdul
Musician
Songwriter
Dancer
Actress
Paula Julie Abdul was born on June 19th, 1963 in San
Fernando, California (5). At a young age she was in love with Gene
Kelly from the 'Singing In The Rain', and as a young girl her
ultimate goal was to be a successful dancer like her (5). At age nine
she enrolled in dance lessons where she showed off her ability to
dance and entertain (5). After graduation, she was in the 1978
movie-musical 'Junior High School’ (5). In the early 1980s Paula
attended an audition to cheer for the LA Lakers, dancing was
always a dream for her (5). She earned a choreographer position. In
that position, she became well known and got bigger jobs. Some of
the bigger jobs were with movies; 'Private School' (1983) and
'Coming To America' (1988) (5). With enough money in her pocket,
she recorded a demo tape and her career took off from there.
In 1988 she recorded and released a single called "Knocked
Out," it reached number 41(5). Her biggest single, in February
1989, “Straight Up” went to number one, as did the single "Forever
Your Girl” (5). She had her third number one hit with "Cold
Hearted". In February 1990 Paula had her forth number one with
"Opposites Attract” (5). She will always be known to be one of
few females to have four number one hits. The 'Forever Your Girl'
album sold over ten million copies worldwide (5). This is when
her career really took off and she was well known amongst many
people in the world.
Big Hits - Albums
released
album
title
chart peak
RIAA status 1988
forever your girl
#1
7x Platinum 1990
shut up
and dance
#7
Platinum 1991
spellbound
#1
3x Platinum
1995
head over heels
#18
Gold 2000
greatest hits
none
none
*Stats from bib number 5
Big Hits - Singles
released
single
title
chart peak
RIAA status 1988
knocked out
#41
none
1988 (it's just) the
way that you love me #88
none
1988
straight up
#1
platinum 1989
forever your girl
#1
gold 1989
cold
hearted
#1
gold
1989 (it's just) the way that you love me #3
none 1989
opposites attract
#1
gold 1991
rush rush
#1
gold 1991
the promise of
a new day
#1
none
*Stats
from1991
bib number 5
blowing kisses in the wind
#6
With her career doing very well, Paul Abdul married Emilio
Estevez (5). In 1992, private things came about with her. She told
the media she suffered from bulimia and checked herself into a clinic
(5). She also divorced Emilo Estevez in May 1994, citing
irreconcilable differences, they still are close to this day (5). In
1995, she had a come back album called ‘Head over Heels.’ It only
hit 18 on the top charts, but she wanted to prove that she could still
entertain (5). She has appeared in several T.V. shows, but the
biggest one was in the summer of 2001. She was one of the judges
for American Idol (5). It is a top show in the ratings, and Paula can
spot new talent. She was on the best entertainers of her day and she
will never be forgotten for what she did and how she did it.
Casey Kasem
Radio host
Activist
DJ
Actor
Best known for his Top 40 countdown, Casey Kasem has
also done many other things. He was born April 27, 1932 in
Detroit, Michigan (3). Casey is the the son of Lebanese Druze
parents (3). He was married twice and has four children, Kerri,
Michael and Julie and one child with his current wife Jean, Liberty
(3).
He had a normal childhood, but there was something special
about him. Casey majored in speech education at Wayne State
University (3). He always wanted to be on T.V. With the voice that
he has, that was possible. He has done many shows throughout his
career. His best known was the voice of Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers
in the Scooby-Doo shows (3). He was the spokesman for many
found raisers and telethons.
Things he has done
Anti-alcohol abuse
Anti-smoking
Charities
Telethons
"Casey's Top 40 with
Casey Kasem” debuting on July 4,
1970
"Casey's Countdown”
"Casey's Hot 20"
"Casey's Biggest Hits”
- his five minute
program
*Info from bib number 3.
Casey is also involved in many social and
humanitarian causes. His interests and involvement goes a
long way. They range from vegetarianism, to anti-smoking, to
anti-discrimination projects (3). He has made many guest
appearances and also help cohost Jerry Lewis' Labor Day
Telethon since 1981 (3). In 1954, being a DJ took him to
several cities. He started in Detroit then went to Cleveland,
Buffalo, Oakland and ended up in Los Angeles (3). He was
also inducted to the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame in
1995 (3).
Conclusion
As one can see, Arab-Americans have done a great amount
for this country. Arab-American have been in many places, many
places that I never even knew about. There have been athletes,
singers, DJs, and political figures. Many other Arab-Americans
have done much for this country. Others include Spencer
Abraham, Paul Anka, Tony Shalhoub, Kathy Najimy, Salma
Hayek, Danny Thomas, and many others (cpack 21-32). ArabAmericans are in many places across the nation. They have many
skills and have shown them to the country and throughout the
world. If this country can forget about all the problems we have
with each other, we can see the true beauty of all cultures. There
are many talented people in the world, we should try to take
advantage of what we have.
Bibliography
1. Hassoun collections, Spring Semester 2003: IAH 211C
Coursepack. 21-32.
2. Suleiman, Michael W. Arabs in America: Building a New Future.
Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1999.
3. http://www.infoage.org/NBHF-CaseyKasem.html. Visited on
April 20-22, 2003.
4.http://football.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2
F%2Fmembers.aol.com%2FArgonuter%2Findex.html.
Visited on April 20-22, 2003.
Bib Continued
5. http://rainy.net/pabdul/pages/biography.html. Visited on
April 19-23, 2003.
6. http://www.nader.org/. Visited on April 22, 2003.
7. http://therealdifference.com. Visited on April 22, 2003.
8. http://www.dougflutiejrfoundation.org/. Visited on April 2122, 2003.
9. http://www.espn.com. Visited April 17-19, 22-23, 2003.