For many communities, being counted is not just a matter of data. It is a matter of recognition, representation, and resources. Yet for Arab Americans, this recognition has been deferred for decades and obscured under the category of whiteness, which fails to capture who we are. It is worth examining how we celebrate Arab American identity and how our institutions are coming dangerously close to rendering it invisible.

Over the last 16 months under the Trump administration, people of color and marginalized communities across the country have faced both overt and subtle forms of targeting and discrimination at the federal level. One of the less visible examples is how the federal government has handled updates to federal race and ethnicity data standards, particularly as they relate to the upcoming 2030 Census.