2026년 4월 23일
Arab-American Family Support Center's CEO, Randy Ali, shares how civic engagement shows up in everyday life, community support, and advocacy across NYC’s Arab American communities.
What does civic engagement look like for the AAFSC community? This could be voting, organizing, having conversations, or showing up in smaller everyday ways - what stands out to you?
At AAFSC, we think of civic engagement as something much broader than voting in elections or organizing around a particular set of issues. We see it as the ability of individuals and families to participate in the life of their communities, build relationships, make their voices heard, and help shape the systems that affect their daily lives. That is why we intentionally weave civic engagement throughout the full continuum of our work.
At its core, our work is about equipping families across generations with the services and resources they need to become stable, supported, and ultimately thrive. Through that process, the people we work with come to see that civic engagement is not separate from everyday life. It touches every aspect of social, civic, and economic well-being. We help community members understand and respond to issues that have real consequences for their families, from putting food on the table and securing housing to accessing affordable, quality healthcare. Through our programs, we also help people build the tools, confidence, and relationships they need to participate effectively in civic life. We see our role as helping guide people as they take ownership of shaping their communities.
We have found that context matters enormously. When families are vulnerable and experiencing trauma, whether economic, social, or otherwise, our first responsibility is to help stabilize the situation. It is incredibly difficult to participate in public life when you or your family are facing crisis, isolation, or uncertainty. In this phase, we connect people to a supportive network of staff, services, and resources that can help them navigate immediate challenges. Even at that stage, people begin to see how public systems, policies, and community support shape their lives in very practical ways.
As families gain stronger footing, we can begin creating opportunities for more visible forms of civic engagement. Sometimes that starts small. It may mean creating spaces for families to connect with classmates, neighbors, and others in their community, and to speak openly about the challenges they are facing. We also create opportunities for community members to support one another, share advice about navigating health insurance, accessing food assistance, and finding affordable housing. Through these interactions , they also build stronger ties with one another. These everyday conversations strengthen trust, reduce isolation, and help people see themselves as part of a broader community with common interests and a shared future.
That foundation can then grow into more public forms of participation and advocacy. Youth in afterschool programs draft open letters. English students speak with their elected representative about the services they like to see in their city. A neighbor casts their vote for a local participatory budget project. An emerging leader tells their story to an audience at a community event. And parents tell organizations like AAFSC how we can serve them better.
This isn’t just on individuals. When we see acts of civic engagement big and small happen in our direct service programs, we have a responsibility to amplify their impact. We inform elected officials about what communities are experiencing and create space to hear directly from constituents. We fight for resources that clients are asking for. We advocate for changes to bureaucratic structures so that Middle Eastern and North African communities can be counted in data and represented in policy decisions. We also show up to support legislation that advances a more humane immigration policy.
One of our favorite examples of bringing community and civic life together is our citizenship celebrations. These gatherings honor one of the most important milestones in a person’s immigration journey. They also create a space for community members, elected officials, and others to come together, celebrate, and connect in a meaningful way. They reflect the kind of civic engagement we believe in: grounded in dignity, belonging, and shared experience.
Ultimately, our goal is to help our network of more than 21,000 individuals and families not only meet their immediate needs but also shape their own visions for the future of their communities and help turn those visions into reality.
After the last presidential election, Arab Americans were criticized for low voter turnout and often labeled apathetic. From my own experience and from conversations with friends and family, that absence was not apathy.
What does civic engagement mean to you personally, especially as part of the Arab American community in NYC?
When we talk about any form of civic action, we have to start by focusing on the most urgent and dangerous challenges facing our community. It is hard not to place the rise in anti-Muslim hate at the top of that list. I recently wrote an op-ed about the growing Islamophobia we are seeing in New York and across the country. While Arab Americans come from many different faith traditions, for me, and I am sure for many others, this moment recalls the deep fear Arab Americans experienced in the years after 9/11. During that time, our communities were subjected to widespread surveillance, harassment, and discrimination. We are sadly seeing too much of that anti-Muslim hate and bigotry directed at Arab and Muslim Americans once again, and it is absolutely imperative that we speak up and insist on being treated with the same dignity and respect afforded to every other community.
Second, many of us have loved ones in regions affected by war and conflict, which has deepened a sense of unease and disillusionment about the role and place of Arab Americans in our society. Frankly, there are moments when many of us have felt unwelcome in American civic life.
It was a response to broader concerns about U.S. policies, particularly in the Middle East, that left many Arab Americans feeling as though they did not have a political home. A major part of civic engagement, then, is figuring out how to show up politically in ways that build long-term power for our community.
Third, civic engagement is about much more than the stereotypical issues many people assume define Arab American identity in the United States. It is also about the everyday issues that shape people’s lives: reduced benefits for families who depend on them, the need for more affordable housing, concern about federal immigration policies, and cutting red tape for small businesses.
One issue we have been focused on at AAFSC is proper recognition in the Census. For too long, the categories available have failed to reflect reality and have distorted how our communities are counted in official population estimates. On a personal level, checking a box labeled “White,” as people of Middle Eastern descent have often been required to do, has never felt accurate to me, especially given the very real discrimination Arab Americans face as a minority community in the United States. Census disaggregation gives our communities more choice, more dignity, and it is more accurate. We expect to see “Middle Eastern/North African” as a category in the 2030 Census and in state and city forms in years to come. This shift was made possible through decades of persistent organizing efforts by individuals, leaders, and organizations - including many current and former AAFSC staff.
These issues may not always receive the same attention as Islamophobia or war, but they are deeply consequential in the day-to-day lives of Arab Americans in this country.
All that said, Arab Americans are becoming more engaged. We are strengthening our voices and organizing at both the local and national levels. In June, I will be part of the National Network for Arab American Communities delegation traveling to Washington, D.C., for Arab American Advocacy Days. Next week, we will take part in Emgage’s New York Muslim Advocacy Day, which will be a great opportunity to meet with lawmakers, advocate for key legislation, and strengthen our collective voice.
These are just some examples of how Arab American organizations from across the country are coming together to build collective strength, but there will be many more examples in the months and years ahead. Arab Americans are recognizing that it is simply not acceptable to remain silent.
We are sadly seeing too much of that anti-Muslim hate and bigotry directed at Arab and Muslim Americans once again, and it is absolutely imperative that we speak up and insist on being treated with the same dignity and respect afforded to every other community.
What role does youth play in your community right now? How are they shaping conversations around civic engagement, identity, or the future of NYC?
In my view, there is nothing more important than getting young people energized about playing a positive role in their communities and showing leadership on the issues of the day and so that will continue to be a core focus of AAFSC going forward. In fact, we are going to expand upon this work.
This is very personal to me. Growing up on Staten Island, youth programs were a lifeline for me. They were about much more than sports. I went every day for basketball, but I also learned leadership, how to connect with others in positive ways, received mentorship from counselors, and took field trips to places I never would have experienced without those programs. That commitment stayed with me as I pursued degrees in public policy and law, worked with youth programs in upstate New York, and became involved in social justice and refugee rights issues in Washington, D.C. It continued during my time as a USAID Mission Director, when I worked with young people in countries around the world, from Morocco to Bangladesh to the Philippines.
We need to create a culture that builds long-term, sustainable civic strength. That goes far beyond simply getting young people registered to vote. Youth need to feel empowered to take on the issues they see in their communities. They need the confidence that they can challenge interests not aligned with their own. And they need trusted organizations like ours to help guide them toward a vision of the future for themselves and their families that is rooted in hope and possibility, not just in responding to daily crises.
What is so striking to me is that when we ask our young people what is on their minds, they do not fixate on the problems, even though there are many. They get right to the practical question of how to build a better life for themselves and their families. They want to know how to help grow a family small business, which means they need financial literacy. They want to understand how to invest the small amount of money they have been able to save. They want to know how they can intern with elected officials whose values align with theirs so they can begin to understand how politics and change work from the inside.
This is a critical moment to equip young people with the tools to engage, empower them to use their voices, and affirm their sense of belonging. We want them to know that they have both the right and the ability to shape their own futures.
What’s a message you’d share with Arab American New Yorkers about using their voice right now?
Now is a moment that calls for solidarity, support, and action. We need to believe in the power of our collective voice and build it with organizations around us. We’re inspired by the Arab-American Association of New York who is mobilizing their community to speak out against hate. We’re backing up Malikah who’s advancing a MENA equity bill so that state funding can go to organizations with the cultural competence to serve our communities well. We’re partnering with Emgage who is bringing local Muslim leaders together for honest conversation with City and State officials. We’re proud members of the New York Immigration Coalition who are pushing ambitious and essential legislative priorities that protect the livelihoods of immigrant New Yorkers. We’re grateful to the National Network for Arab American Communities and the MENA NY Coalition who have delivered huge legislative wins that ensure our communities will be counted in City, State, and local data.
Only together with these and countless more organizations in this fight can we realize the future that we envision: where all in our community have safety, equity, and opportunity.
To Arab American New Yorkers doing this work with us: thank you. To those who are looking to deepen their involvement, there is no shortage of opportunities to rally with us. Connect with AAFSC and any of our partner organizations. Make your voice heard. Take action. Join us.
Language access is a critical part of ensuring all New Yorkers can participate in our democracy. Is there an Arabic (or other language) word, phrase, or idea that comes to mind when you think about civic engagement? What does it mean to you?
I like to boast a pretty remarkable stat about ourselves: our AAFSC staff speaks 24 languages, with about a quarter speaking Arabic. Civic engagement can feel like a broad, abstract term, but at its core, it’s about participation and belonging.
The Arabic word that comes to mind is مشاركة ( musharaka )--participation. The word carries more weight than its English translation suggests. It speaks not just to political action, but to communal action: showing up for your neighbors, your block, your city, your country. It reflects a deeply rooted cultural value in Arab communities that by uplifting the community, you uplift yourself.
For Arab American New Yorkers, it means taking pride in our heritage and recognizing that NYC is built on the contributions of myriad cultures, including ours. It’s about using our collective voice, our musharaka , to affirm our role in the social, cultural, and economic fabric of the city.
For Arab American New Yorkers, it means taking pride in our heritage and recognizing that NYC is built on the contributions of myriad cultures, including ours. It’s about using our collective voice, our musharaka , to affirm our role in the social, cultural, and economic fabric of the city.