Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Obama's Commerce Department considers labeling Arab Americans a disadvantaged minority

Say what?
(The Hill) The Commerce Department is considering naming Arab Americans a socially and economically disadvantaged minority group that is eligible for special business assistance.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) petitioned Commerce earlier this year to ask that Arab Americans be made eligible for the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which helps minority entrepreneurs gain access to capital, contracts and trade opportunities.

The ADC petition cited “discrimination and prejudice in American society[,] resulting in conditions under which Arab-American individuals have been unable to compete in a business world.” The group claimed discrimination against Arab Americans increased after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

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Well, this from 2005:
WASHINGTON (AP) — People of Arab descent living in the United States tend to be better educated and wealthier than other Americans, the Census Bureau says. [...]

Arabs are nearly twice as likely as the typical U.S. resident to possess a college degree — 41 percent to 24 percent. Better education typically translates into higher income, and that was highlighted in the report: The median income for an Arab family was $52,300, about $2,300 more than the median income for all U.S. families.

The proportion of U.S. Arabs working in management jobs was higher than the U.S. average, 42 percent to 34 percent.

Since the data stops at 2000, it was not possible to measure the impact of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Helen Samhan, executive director of the Arab American Institute Foundation, lauded the bureau for a report that shows “how integrated Arabs are in American life. It is a community that is well-rooted and well-invested in the United States.”

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Disadvantaged? Discrimination and prejudice?

"Affirmative action" and "social engineering" come to mind.