News

Jan 27, 2015

Philippe Aractinji’s ‘Mirath’ at NC State

This post is written by Dr. Akram Khater, Director, Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies and a Professor of Middle East Studies at North Carolina State University. Miss the event? You can watch the Q&A on the Center’s YouTube channel! The Lebanese have been leaving their villages and cities for over 160 years. More…

Jan 22, 2015

Bridging the Divide in Andrews, North Carolina

This article originally appeared on Arab American Institute’s website on January 20, 2015. The author, Joan Hanna, granted the Center permission to republish. A Note from the Center: In 2010, when we established  the first iteration of this endeavor, we focused on the diverse community of Lebanese living in North Carolina. We interviewed families about immigration,…

Jan 14, 2015

Anthony Mansoor: An Unlikely Profile of a Lebanese living in Mississippi

On January 6, The Atlantic featured an article “How White Flight Ravaged the Mississippi Delta.” Focused on the town of Tchula located about 70 miles north of Jackson, the town is “currently listed as the fifth-poorest town in the nation with a population of more than 1,000.” Focused on unsurprising economic struggle of a small farming town,…

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 &…

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,…