Dr. Mona Hanna Attisha accepts and award from ADC-MI and friends.

DEARBORN — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of Michigan’s (ADC-MI) 17th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Banquet reflected on an overwhelming year of hate rhetoric targeting minority groups across the country. 

The event, held Wednesday, April 27, at Byblos Banquet Hall, cited a world in social and political turmoil, fueled in part by presidential candidates spreading ignorance and bigotry. 

But the theme that emerged throughout the evening centered on words Dr. King once famously said. 

 “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” 

Keynote Speaker Marc Lamont Hill reiterated that quote during a moving speech at the gala. Hill, a political contributor on CNN and current host of BET News, received an award from ADC-MI for being an outspoken advocate of a number of civil rights issues, including his involvement in the Ferguson to Palestine solidarity movement. 

Hill cited various struggles around the world, calling for communities to stand up for the voiceless. He linked the Flint water crisis to the Israeli occupation in Gaza. 

“If you don’t think there is a connection between racism and the environment, go right to Flint,” Hill said. “And then leave Flint and go to Gaza, where you see the exact same state-sponsored violence and state-sponsored murder of people through the environment.” 

Hill discussed the struggles of the Black Lives Matter movement, drawing parallels to the Palestinian people. He reflected on a visit to Palestine, where he met with youths who’d been devastated over the shooting of an unarmed minor by Israeli police.

“They said, ‘Can you believe that?’ and I said, ‘I sure can,'” Hill told attendees. “We watch videos every day, both locally and globally, of acts of civic evil. We have to see the connection by listening to one another, by engaging one another and challenging one another.” 

Hill discussed his previous stint at FOX News, where he would engage in routine on-air political debates. He said after some time, he discovered a pattern occurring behind the scenes at the news giant. Many individuals at the network had differing agendas; they didn’t see the world the same way, but they would all work together to deliver a powerful branded message. 

“They understood that if they worked together, struggled together, organized together, voted together and lied together, then they can come up with something that was bigger than operating separately,” he said.

Director Fatina Abdrabboh with Marc Lamont Hill.

Hill called for minority groups, including Arab Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans, and the LGBT community, to stand together and fight injustices that seem to constantly prevail.

The attendees included Larycia Hawkins, a former professor at Wheaton College, a private Christian institution. Hawkins received national attention last December when she resigned from her job after having been subjected to heavy criticism from students and administrators for showing up to work in a hijab and declaring that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. 

ADC-MI awarded Hawkins with the “Bridge Builder Award.”

Hawkins took the stage to explain why she made the decision to show up to work wearing the hijab and why she left the college with no regrets.

“I was concerned and grieved personally about a country that masquerades as the beacon of human rights in the world,” she said. “And the presidential politics that have evolved not just to pandering, but to buffoonery that propagates and elevates the hate that resides in people’s hearts.”

The banquet also highlighted positive contributions from the Arab American community. The special guest of honor was Mona Hanna Attisha, the doctor who received renowned acclaim for discovering abnormal lead poising in Flint’s children. ADC-MI presented her with the “Community Service Award.” 

Attisha discussed the challenges she faced when she went public with her findings, stating that it was her duty to reveal the truth.

She directed her comments to the community’s youth. 

“The youth are our future,” Attisha said. “Too often we are resigned to being quiet. And when we see problems in our communities… You need to speak up. I spoke up and I had to speak up. I had no choice. It was my job; and it is your job and duty to speak up whenever you see injustice in any community.”

Attisha was honored with a number of Arab American physicians in attendance, a increasing number who have demonstrated their strong support for the work of ADC Michigan.  

ADC-MI Director Fatina Abdrabboh thanked the community for supporting the organization, reflecting a busy year where ADC-MI battled a forefront of Islamophobia and bigotry. 

 “The time for civil rights defense for our community now is stronger than its been in decades,” Abdrabboh said. “The stakes are the highest they have been in history. We need your support to continue to do the work we do.”

Abdrabboh cited divisions among communities that have allowing an avenue of hate rhetoric to sweep the country. 

She called for individuals to be ambassadors and to speak up when injustices transpire. 

“The division and lack of unity that sometimes plagues our community will continue to be nothing more than a glass ceiling for ourselves,” Abdrabboh said. “We need to think about productive and helpful ways in which we can move forward together….not perfectly united on every issue, but at least committed to the benefit of unity.”

Abdrabboh promised the attendees that she will continue to fight in the area of defending Arab American rights. She thanked her strong support base for their continued commitment to her leadership over the last three years. 

The master of ceremonies for the evening was Director of the Damon J Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University Law School, Professor Peter Hammer.  He said, “I am honored to be part of this evening.  I am proud of the work of ADC Michigan and I say without hesitation that ADC Michigan is the best organization defending people’s rights in the entire state of Michigan.” 

As it does every year, ADC-MI awarded scholarships to local high school students who submitted essays to the civil rights organization. A committee reviewed the essays to determine the winners. 

This year’s first place winner was Napilh Abdullah, a student at Edsel Ford High School.   Second place winner went to Farah Elsayed, a student at Dearborn High. The third place winner was Hajjar Baban of Fordson High School.

The ADC-MI also awarded two local teachers with the “Teacher of the Year” award.  The first award went to Khitam Abuthallam, chair of Arabic Studies at Dreamy Islamic Academy in Dearborn Heights.

The second award went to Dr. Amira Kassem, the former chair of the English department at Fordson High School. Kassem was cited as being an influence to many students at the high school. 

She reiterated the importance of language and explained how she was able to inspire a whole generation of students through Language Arts. 

“It is the responsibility of every educator, specifically the language educator, to lead students to claim language, which has often been used as a tool of oppression and repression, and to make it an instrument of their liberation…Malcolm X style,” Kassem said. “This instrument can calibrate their consciousness…and spark their spirit to ignite reflective action…the action of busting myths.”