2014

Oct 30, 2014

Celebrating the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies

NC State recently celebrated an exceptionally generous $8.1 million gift to endow the Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Representing the largest single gift in the history of the college, the Khayrallahs are creating the first privately endowed center at NC State, and the world’s first center on Lebanese culture and history outside of Lebanon. Enjoy pictures from the event where the gift was announced.

Dec 17, 2014

Midwives in the 19th-century Syrian Colony of New York City

This article is written by Dr. Linda K. Jacobs who has been involved with development work in the Middle East for 30 years as a scholar, business executive and nonprofit administrator. In 2013, she was part of a project called “Little Syria:” Lower Manhattan Before the World Trade Center. She is the author of Digging In: An…

Dec 10, 2014

Book Review: Rabih Alameddine’s An Unnecessary Woman

This article is written by Joseph Geha, professor emeritus at Iowa State University and author of two books; Through and Through: Toledo Stories and Lebanese Blonde. In October 2014, the Center invited Geha to lecture entitled “Is there an Us?” centering on immigration, ethnicity and identity. You can view his lecture here. “I am my family’s appendix,…

Dec 8, 2014

Gibran’s work commemorated at L.A. Central Library

On Friday, December 6, at the Los Angeles Central Library in downtown, nearly 200 members of the Lebanese diaspora came to witness an historic event. Guests traveled from throughout California, the United States and Lebanon. Commemorated by artist Victor Issa and donated by the World Lebanese Cultural Union (WLCU) , the unveiling of a bronze…

Dec 3, 2014

Lebanese Women and the Right to Vote

This article is written by Dr. Akram Khater, Director of the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies and a Professor of Middle East Studies at North Carolina State University. The focus of this articles comes from his book, Inventing Home: Emigration, Gender and the Middle Class in Lebanon, 1870-1920 In 1953, Lebanese women voted for the…

Nov 26, 2014

Lorraine Thomas: A Story of Perseverance, Independence and Respect

The oral history was recorded by Mandy Benter who also wrote this article. Photos are courtesy of the Thomas family. This month, the Moise A. Khayrallah Center of Lebanese Diaspora Studies had the pleasure of interviewing Lorraine Thomas of Raleigh. Lorraine’s family first came to the United States in 1903 and eventually settled in Red…

Nov 20, 2014

How the Lebanese Became White?

This post is written by Dr. Akram Khater, Director, Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies. Dr. Khater is a professor of history at North Carolina State University and has published extensively on Lebanese migration to the United States. Race is a difficult topic. It is fraught with a violent history and tumultuous feelings. Yet,…

Nov 12, 2014

About town: Lebanese in Los Angeles

This weekend was a great time to be part of the Lebanese community in Los Angeles, CA. Two great events punctuated the weekend: L.A. Beirut Sister Cities Committee annual Gala held on Friday, November 7, and the Arab Film Festival, which held screening all weekend before heading to San Diego to close out the festivities.…

Nov 5, 2014

Tragedy strikes a Lebanese Community, 1918

This post is written by Margie Stevens. Her research focuses on death certificates of Lebanese in the United States. Her regular contributions will feature stories of Lebanese in different states across the U.S. This month, her focus is on Kentucky. On the windy evening of Saturday, March 9, 1918, hundreds, including Rosa Azar and Tommy…

Dec 22, 2014

Sneak Peek: The Creighton-Danby Collection at the Gregg

This post is written by Margie Stevens. Her research on death certificates has been featured on the site. She was also instrumental in building the Khayrallah Center’s digital archive. Keep an eye out for the newest addition to our online digital archive after the holidays! Last week, we visited the Gregg Museum of Art &…