Nasser Beydoun elected head of Arab-American Civil Rights League
The Arab-American Civil Rights League (ACRL) is pleased to announce it has elected Nasser M. Beydoun to Chair its Board of Directors. Mr. Beydoun, a long-time member of the ACRL Board of Directors, will replace founding Chairman Nabih H. Ayad.
Established in 2011, the Dearborn-based non-profit works to protect and advance the civil rights of Arab-Americans through community engagement, education and advocacy. The ACRL provides legal guidance and support to members of the Arab-American community, actively promotes the development of policies and governance to secure the community’s constitutional and civil rights, and serves as a conduit between the Arab-American community and the media to assure adequate and accurate representation on issues of Arab-American concern.
Beydoun is presently Vice President – Multicultural Marketing and Managing Director – Middle East for the Detroit-based Bassett & Bassett Communication Managers & Counselors. He is an active member of the Board of Crime Stoppers, and a leader in the push to make Detroit safer by spreading the Detroit Police Department’s Project Lighthouse beyond the city’s Central Business District.
Recognized by The Detroit News as 2006 Michiganian of the Year, Nasser Beydoun is an accomplished entrepreneur, businessman and community leader who has been instrumental in advancing the interests of the Arab American community locally, regionally and internationally. Beydoun co-founded the American Middle East Economic Affairs Committee, parent of the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum, in 2002, and was the driving force behind the first U.S.-Arab Economic Forum in 2003, as well as subsequent forums. From 2000-2005, he served as the Executive Director of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce. Beydoun served as Chairman of the Board of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce from 2006-2008.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to serve my community through the critically-important work of the ACRL,” said Nasser Beydoun.
Since its founding in 2011, the ACRL has been an outspoken critic of public and private efforts to stifle the rights of the Arab-American community. In 2012, the group sued the FBI, U.S. Department of Justice and the Terrorist Screening Center to secure due process considerations in the enforcement of the “No Fly List.” The following year, the ACRL filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice over mass bank account closures targeting members of the Arab-American community and subsequently filed a class-action lawsuit against Huntington National Bank for discriminatory practices that, when decided, will have national repercussions.
“We have worked hard to promote and protect the rights of the Arab-American community, and I am confident Nasser’s leadership will help us to be even more effective in the struggle for justice and equality,” said former ACRL Chairman Nabih Ayad.
About ACRL: The Arab-American Civil Rights League (ACRL) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2011 and is committed to protecting the civil rights of Arab Americans through education and advocacy. The organization, which is based out of Dearborn, Michigan, works to build coalitions, promote understanding and cooperation and combat negative stereotypes. Led by prominent civil rights attorneys and advocates, the ACRL offers the community it serves a solid commitment to ensuring that their rights are protected and preserved. www.acrlmich.org
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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