2019

Nov 6, 2019

Announcing “The Romey Lynchings” Website

On May 17th, 1929, two Lebanese immigrants in Lake City, Florida were murdered in a tragic tale of racial violence against Arab immigrants. Hasna Romey was killed by police while defending her husband and business, and her husband, N’oula, was imprisoned and lynched by members of the Ku Klux Klan in retaliation for his wife’s… 

Sep 15, 2019

Teaching Public History: Interactive Program Paves The Way For Lebanese Teachers

A program hosted by the Khayrallah Center is transforming the way Lebanese teachers educate students about their country’s history.  

Aug 28, 2019

Passing a Camel Through Ellis Island: Arab-American Press and the Immigration Act of 1924

This post was written by Diogo Bercito, a Brazilian journalist who worked as a foreign correspondent in Jerusalem, Beirut, and Cairo. He is currently pursuing an M.A. in Arab Studies at Georgetown University, where he researches Arab migration to Latin America. He was a recipient of the Khayrallah Center’s Visiting Scholar Grant in May of 2019. A… 

Jun 25, 2019

A Waking Dream: Syrian Migrants’ Journey to the Americas

This post was written by Randa Tawil, a PhD candidate in American Studies at Yale University. Tawil’s dissertation focuses on early 20th century migration routes from Syria to North and South America, and explores how constructs of gender and race impacted immigrant experiences. Syrians traveling to the Americas in the late 19th and early 20th… 

Apr 26, 2019

“A Boatload of Horses”: Alan Jabbour’s Family Immigration Saga

This blog was written by Folklorist, Sabra Webber. Webber is a professor emerita at The Ohio State University in the Department of Comparative Studies and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. She visited the Khayrallah Center in the Summer of 2018 while researching her former colleague and friend Alan Jabbour. She wishes to… 

Mar 25, 2019

Fighting Injustice: The Story of Herbert Nassour

Watch the documentary, Herb Nassour: The People’s Doctor, in English with Spanish or Arabic Subtitles.  Far too often, the complex history of Lebanese immigration is collapsed into a few “success” stories, measured by accumulation of fame and fortune. Such tales are certainly real and admirable, but fall short of telling the whole story of immigration.… 

Feb 6, 2019

“Like a wolf who fell upon sheep”: Early Lebanese Immigrants and Religion in America

For some early Lebanese immigrants, religion was a source of comfort. Its rituals, language and congregations provided a sense of home in an alien environment, and stability amid the fast-paced changes they experienced in their new lives. For others, it was an oppressive reminder of a past they left behind, and a source of discord…