Author's Posts
SAFE holds forum to discuss substance abuse
August 17th, 20180 WAYNE — SAFE (Substance Abuse Coalition) held an open invitation panel discussion with members of law enforcement at HYPE Western Wayne on July 10, to discuss substance abuse. DEA agents, FBI agents and more gathered from 6-8 p.m. to answer questions prepared by SAFE and audience members. Ali Sayed, the founder of HYPE Athletics,...
Arab American candidates lose in Hamtramck primary elections
August 12th, 20180 HAMTRAMCK – Two Arab American candidates lost in the Democratic primary election in Hamtramck on August 7. Abraham Aiyash ran for State Senate in the Second District, while Saad Almasmari campaigned for the Fourth District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. Aiyash earned 5,764 votes while his primary opponent,...
Rashida Tlaib first Arab American Muslim woman elected to U.S. Congress
August 10th, 20180 DETROIT – On August 7, voters in the 13th Congressional District made history by choosing former State Rep. Rashida Tlaib in the Democratic Primary. This November, Tlaib will be the first Arab American Muslim woman elected to Congress – she’ll appear on the general election ballot with no opposition from a Republican candidate and...
Fewer Arab films and filmmakers at Traverse City Film Festival, but still impactful
August 3rd, 20180 TRAVERSE CITY – The Traverse City Film Festival, which runs through Aug. 5, will screen more than 100 new and classic films for movie-goers. Five of them will feature Arab filmmakers or stories featuring Arabs. Last year the festival had a “Travel ban sidebar” that featured seven films from countries affected by President...
Voters will have to choose how to pay for CSO project
July 20th, 20180 DEARBORN – During the Aug. 7 primary, voters will decide how additional funds will be raised for the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO), which requires $58 million more than originally planned, according to city documents. The ballot will include a property tax increase option. If unsuccessful, the funds will be provided by an increase...
Lebanese filmmakers’ movie ‘Capharnaum’ wins Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival
May 25th, 20180 CANNES — Nadine Labaki’s “Capharnum” earned a 15-minute standing ovation during its premiere at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. The film follows the story of a young boy named Zain, who is suing his parents for giving him life. Labaki was one of just three women to present a film to compete for the Palme d’Or, the...
Trump skips White House Correspondents’ dinner in D.C. for rally in Washington, MI
May 4th, 20180 WASHINGTON, MI — While the First Amendment and award-winning journalism were being honored at the White House Correspondents Association's annual dinner in Washington, D.C. on April 28, President Trump held a speaking event at Total Sports Park in Washington, Michigan. It was the second year in a row the president skipped the...
Will the decent Republicans stand up?
April 27th, 20180 State Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton), a Republican candidate for governor, is spreading his hateful rhetoric to hide his lack of leadership and the fact that his campaign is bankrupt in both ideas and dollars. Earlier this month the trailing Republican gubernatorial candidate, who is known for his racist and White Supremacist ideas,...
Progress Michigan presents ‘The Liberal Redneck’ at fundraiser in Warren
April 27th, 20180 WARREN – The co-authors of “The Liberal Redneck Manifesto: Draggin Dixie Outta the Dark” performed to a sold out crowd of about 600 at the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights (MRCC) Banquet Center on April 21. Progress Michigan and its sister organization, Engage Michigan, presented the comedy show by Trae...
Islamic House of Wisdom honors Barbara McQuade and Dr. Nassib Fawaz
April 27th, 20181 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – The Islamic House of Wisdom (IHW) honored former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade and Dr. Nassib Fawaz with awards at its semi-annual fundraising event on April 21. “Barbara was admired for her public services and for standing for justice,” Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, the spiritual leader of the IHW, told The...
Summer swim tags available
April 27th, 20180 DEARBORN – The city’s pool season is almost underway and the city is reminding residents that they can purchase swim tags and register for outdoor swimming lessons at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. There are six different distinctions of swim tags, according to a press release. “Preschool, $35. Parents must...
Information for Lebanese American voters in the upcoming elections
April 27th, 20180 DEARBORN – Lebanese Americans are given access to cast their ballots outside of Lebanon and the voting process is set to begin on April 29. Voting stations across Michigan will be overseen by the Consulate General of Lebanon in Detroit. The six polling stations that fall under the jurisdiction of the Consulate General consist of...
August 7 primaries: Record number of Arab Americans compete in several races
April 27th, 20180 DEARBORN — Now that the April 24 deadline to file nominating petitions for elected office has passed, Michiganians have an “un-official” look at candidates in the August 7 primary elections. That list will be finalized once the deadline to withdraw passes on April 27. In the race for governor, two Libertarians — John J. Tatar...
HYPE Athletics celebrates 17 years of helping youth, community
April 23rd, 20180 We have been able to help more than 100 kids in the community with drug addiction DEARBORN HEIGHTS — On Friday, April 13, HYPE Athletics celebrated its 17th anniversary with a dinner at its Dearborn Heights location that drew 750 attendees, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed. What started as a...
Arab Student Union creates street art protest at U of M-Dearborn
April 13th, 20180 DEARBORN – On March 30, Land Day 2018, the Israeli army shot more than 1,000 protesters killing 17 of them, according to multiple reports. On April 8, members of the Arab Student Union at the University of Michigan-Dearborn drew bodies outlined in chalk, with the names of the victims written inside them, on the sidewalk between the......
Forum on ‘Orville Hubbard and contemporary struggles in and beyond Southeast Michigan’ held at UM-Dearborn
April 6th, 20180 DEARBORN – Students of Joshua Akers’ Introduction to Urban and Regional Studies class put together a forum on March 29 to discuss the statue of former Dearborn Mayor Orville Hubbard and to have a broader discussion of racism in and beyond Southeast Michigan. The standing-room-only forum, which Akers moderated, was held in a...
Palestinian filmmaker wins at Ann Arbor Film Festival
April 6th, 20180 ANN ARBOR – Filmmaker and media artist Razan AlSalah has enjoyed presenting content in a performative way since her primary schooling while growing up in Beirut, Lebanon. On March 25, AlSalah won the Barbara Aronofsky Award for an Emerging Experimental Video Artist at the 56th Ann Arbor Film Festival. Her short film, “Your...
Local director’s short film ‘Detroit Diamond’ set to compete for Academy Award nomination
March 30th, 20180 DETROIT – On Thursday, April 5, local filmmaker Mohamed “Hamoody” Jaafar’s “Detroit Diamond” will make its world premiere at the Cleveland International Film Festival, an Academy Award qualifying festival. “Detroit Diamond” follows a young single mother attempting to regain custody of her child from the state, despite...
Planned Parenthood volunteers’ book club holds first meet-up of the year in Hamtramck
March 23rd, 20180 HAMTRAMCK — "Readers Resist", a book club organized by Planned Parenthood volunteers and activists, met for the first time this year on March 21 inside Book Suey, a book shop in Hamtramck. Since last summer, club members have met monthly to discuss the book of the month. Some books read so far include, "We Should all be Feminists"......
Detroit Film Theatre screens Palestinian move, ‘In Between’
March 23rd, 20180 DETROIT — The Detroit Film Theatre held five screenings of Maysaloun Hamoud's first feature film, "In Between (Bar Bahar)", over the weekend of March 16. The film follows three Palestinian women as they share an apartment in Tel Aviv. Elliot Wilhelm, the curator of the Detroit Film Theatre since 1974, said he thought the audiences...
Lebanese American Medical Society educates community about Autism
March 23rd, 20180 DEARBORN — A capacity crowd turned out at Sarai Palace on March 17 to attend a presentation on autism, held by the Lebanese American Medical Society. Pediatrician and LAMS Chairman Dr. Alex El-Sabbagh and psychiatrist Dr. Lamis Jabri made presentations in an effort to increase awareness about autism. El-Sabbagh practices in......
Nursing home sued for mistreating elderly Arab has history of poor care
March 16th, 20180 LIVONIA — Hussein Younes, 89, grew up in Lebanon and immigrated to the United States in the 1990s. He was a patient at Autumnwood of Livonia in 2015 until his son placed a hidden camera in his room, discovered proof of abuse and pulled him out of the facility immediately. Salim Younes placed the camera by his father’s bedside...
Activists march in Washington to protest U.S. support for Israel
March 9th, 20180 WASHINGTON D.C. — On March 4, hundreds chanted "Free, Free Palestine" as they marched from the north lawn of the White House to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, where the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) held its annual policy conference. AIPAC's website describes the conference as, "the largest gathering......
