Arab Americans, Chaldeans, and Muslims in Michigan: Collections at the Bentley Historical Library
James Karoub and Governor George Romney
James Karoub papers
Southeastern Michigan is known as a center of Arab American culture in the United States. The strong concentration of Arab Americans in Michigan can be partly attributed to the Syrian, Lebanese, and Yemeni workers recruited to work in Henry Ford's Rouge Plant in the early 1900s. Since then, many different populations and groups from Arab countries have migrated and flourished in Michigan. While the highest concentration of Arab Americans in Michigan can be found in the southeast (especially Detroit and Dearborn), other Arab American communities have developed around the state, particularly in Flint.
The Bentley Historical Library has actively collected documentation on the Arab American, Chaldean, and Islamic communities in Michigan, through the great help of community members. This guide lists all collections currently held at the Bentley Library. Any interested person may use these collections for research at the library (unless specific restrictions are noted in the collection descriptions).
Researchers interested in these groups, may also want to consult the holdings found in other repositories in Michigan. The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, which opened in May 2005, features collections and exhibits on the Arab American community in the United States and Michigan. The Genesee Historical Collections at the University of Michigan-Flint has many collections on the history of the Arab American community in Flint, including the Hani Bawardi collection, which includes interviews and papers on Arab American individuals and organizations in the Flint area.