ASU and former State Rep. Rashida Tlaib at a Take on Hate forum.

DEARBORN — Our city is swarming with local political campaigns and work by organization leaders and federal officials who promise and endeavor to serve their communities.

In the midst of all this activity, it’s good to sit back and take a good look at an often unrecognized group of citizens who are always at the vanguard of action in this town — its youth.

Many of the faces are recognized at most community functions, political events and on your porch, seeking your vote.

An exemplary team of such passionate advocates are members of the Arab Student Union at Fordson High School.

Hilal Bazzi, a dedicated member, said he joined the ASU because it was one of the few organizations that provided a chance to directly influence progress in the community.

“We really empower our youth to get involved with everything happening,” Bazzi said.

Through volunteering opportunities, ASU students are involved in local politics, gain connections at fundraisers and combat discrimination when it arises, Bazzi said.

Pushing beyond fundraising, an activity most youth groups specialize in, the Fordson students pride themselves on being advocates of the Arab American heritage, crushing negative stereotypes perpetuated by right-wing media.

“There’s a difference when you’re spreading cultural awareness and empowering youth to contribute and leave a footprint in our community,” Bazzi said.

Zeinab Alsaadi, the union’s president, 18, said participating in political and fundraising events provides students the platform so that one day they would be the ones speaking behind the podiums and giving out awards.

Rashid Beydoun, ASU’s advisor, said a sure path to a city’s prosperity is the empowerment of its youth.

After ASU students worked at voting polls.

“We need critical thinkers; we need leaders; we need people who are ready to take the reins and are fully equipped with the tools needed to be the leaders of tomorrow,” Beydoun said.

Its members are as diverse in culture as in the causes they support and the group functions as at outlet for members to express their passions through action, he added.

One cause that unites the youth is a universal discontent of the rampant discrimination and hate crimes against Arab Americans and Dearborn.

“Government doesn’t take a day off; civil rights don’t take a day off; people get discriminated against,” Beydoun said. “So to be a watch group that seeks social justice, you can’t be limited in your scope.”

Recent bias reports of Dearborn being run by sharia law has pushed the city’s youth to stand up and become vocal about the true nature of the community.

In January, about 100 local high school students joined public officials in a march on Martin Luther King Day to dispel negative stereotypes about the city.

Many of its organizers were Fordson ASU members.

Recently, the organization hosted a poetry slam, where participants shared moving stories about being an Arab American and of experiences from their homeland.

They have also hosted a forum that provided an opportunity for community members to question school board candidates on key issues.

But one of the most important functions of the ASU is to prepare Arab American youth to become tomorrow’s leaders and guide them to become robust defenders of their identity.

“The worst kind of defense is a poor one,” Beydoun said. “You need to be equipped with knowledge so we learn about who are we as a people and about what have we contributed to the United States.”