By The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
Last week, the California Middle Eastern North African (MENA) Civil Rights Coalition expressed “profound disappointment” with the California Assembly Appropriations Committee’s decision to suspend a racial inclusion bill.
The MENA Inclusion Act, Assembly Bill 2763, requires state agencies to offer distinct MENA reporting options that reflect residents with MENA heritage. The bipartisan bill co-authored by Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli and Democratic Assemblymember Laura Friedman aims to include categories that report demographic data for residents of MENA descent.
Currently, on official documents people of MENA descent are classified as White.
The Assembly Committee put the bill on hold due to budget concerns. But supporters of the bill argue that the decisions perpetuate the systemic erasure of the identities, experiences, and voices of the state’s MENA community. California is home to more than 740,000 people with MENA heritage. Supporters of the bill argue that people in the Arab American community have the right to be “properly recognized.”
Musa Tariqm, policy coordinator for CAIR-SFBA said that the lack of recognition and accurate data marginalizes Arab Americans, denying them the resources and representation they deserve.
“We must push forward and advocate for policies that acknowledge and address the unique challenges faced by the MENA community,” said Tariq.
“Our fight for equity and justice is far from over, and we call on our allies to stand with us in this vital cause.”
With this decision, AB 2763 can only proceed with an urgent push from the Assembly Committee. Prominent community organizations in the MENA community co-sponsored the bill including the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA), the group that penned the open letter.
