Mawtini
Arab American Narratives of Home and Belonging
Community Launch
January 24, 2026
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Cal Poly Library
Free Admission
Connect With Our Community
Experience the richness of Arab American life through oral histories, interactive installations, food, theatre, and roundtable discussion.
Oral Histories
Listen to intimate recorded stories from Arab Americans sharing their journeys, memories, and experiences of home and belonging.
Interactive Installation
Walk through themed gallery walls featuring artifacts, photographs, and immersive storytelling displays.
Traditional Food
Taste authentic dishes that carry the flavors and memories of Arab American culinary traditions.
Theatre & Discussion
Experience live theatrical performances and participate in roundtable discussions with community members.
Nobody tells you once you leave home, you're a foreigner everywhere…even in the place you came from.
A Journey Through Four Walls
Each wall of our installation tells a different chapter of the Arab American story
Walk through our installation space where each physical wall represents a different theme—from introduction and context, to migration stories, identity negotiations, and community building. These walls create an immersive narrative experience that invites you to step into our world.
Introduction & Context
Understanding the foundation of our project and the principles that guide how we present Arab American stories.
About "Mawtini"
"Mawtini: Arab American Narratives of Home and Belonging" is an oral history and documentation project funded by a City of San Luis Obispo DEI High Impact Grant, administered by two local nonprofits: the Peace Academy of the Sciences and Arts and Our Roots/Our Routes. "Mawtini," which means "my homeland" in Arabic, documents and shares the histories, memories, and experiences of Arab Americans living in SLO and the Central Coast through the method of oral history. The collection explores questions of home and belonging among one of SLO's most underrepresented communities, and one of the smallest clusters of Arabs in California. By spotlighting the real lived experiences of Arab Americans in our community through oral history, we hope to disrupt and reframe the ways that underrepresented groups are perceived in our society.
Decolonizing the Gallery
From the 18th to early 20th centuries, European colonial powers collected artifacts, flora and fauna, and human remains from colonized regions, including the Middle East, to be put on display. These institutions classified and ordered the world into racial hierarchies that placed Europeans at the pinnacle of "universal" knowledge. As an installation containing the voices, words, photographs, and objects of Arabs collected and curated under the leadership of other Arabs, we do not want to replicate this colonial violence by "exhibiting" our people as anomalies to be gawked at. Instead, the installation is meant to immerse you into our worlds as Arab Americans, not to mark out our differences but to explore how our memories and lives may intersect with your own.
Our Objects
Millions of objects taken from colonized places were never meant to be displayed in the "white cube" of the European museum. In our efforts to decolonize the idea of the exhibition, our "Mawtini" narrators have shared their own objects of affection. Rather than existing outside the lifeworlds of the people for whom these objects have meaning, they are here intimately integrated with the memories, experiences, and knowledge recorded in their owners' oral histories. Some of these objects have traveled long distances in the closely guarded possession of their owners as they migrated away from their homelands. Others were passed down as family heirlooms. Still others were acquired in building a new home in a new place.
Stories & Origins
The method of oral history and the origin stories that form the foundation of our collection.
On Oral History
Oral history refers to the process of seeking, recording, preserving, and interpreting the memories, experiences, and feelings of diverse people, particularly those whose histories are not traditionally documented in conventional archives. Each recorded interview is a collaboration between the narrator and the interviewer. One of the most distinctive features of oral history is its "resistance to being pinned down," making this a fitting method for documenting the experiences of Arab Americans. Many of our narrators hold multiple intersecting identities, being both Arab and American and feeling both at home and out of place in both parts of the world.
Origin Stories
The Arab American community of San Luis Obispo is extremely diverse. Our narrators' family histories begin in Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, and pass through other Arab countries like Egypt, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. They share stories of teenage ancestors boarding ships from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, to stories of families scattering on foot after being expelled from their homes in historic Palestine. Some have lived in the United States for multiple generations. Others are second generation immigrants. Still others left their homelands and migrated here themselves. All retain strong connections to their places of origin.
Push and Pull Factors of Migration
Arabs have been migrating to the United States since the early 20th century. By 1924, there were approximately 200,000 Arabs living in the country. While some came to escape religious persecution, most came for economic opportunities. After 1965, push factors largely drove migration—many were displaced by conflicts such as the Israeli occupation after the 1967 Six-Day War, the Lebanese Civil War, and the Gulf War. Since the 1990s, political violence, civil wars, and economic difficulties have increased Arab migration. While for many, exile was not always voluntary or desired, all have chosen to make California, and specifically San Luis Obispo, their new home of choice.
Identity & Belonging
Navigating the complexities of being Arab American and finding home in new places.
Pathways to California
Most Arab immigrants to the United States and California did not take direct routes from their places of origin. Most pathways from the Middle East to San Luis Obispo reflect what historian Sarah Gualtieri calls "step migration"—migration that unfolds in multiple stages rather than a one-time move. Since the early 20th century, migrants from the Middle East have moved via multi-step, often circuitous routes, complicating conventional destination-focused narratives. Their narratives reveal that the diverse identities they hold are shaped not just by their country of origin or settlement, but by the intermediate places of transit or residence along the way.
Between Arab and American
Like many immigrants, Arab Americans negotiate the complexities of existing in a "hyphenated" identity. Since 1944, Arabs in the U.S. have been officially labeled as White, though they have never enjoyed the privileges associated with Whiteness, particularly in the post-9/11 context. Our narrators contend with the daily realities of being Arab in America. Some express what it is like to "pass" as White, while others assert that their physical appearance always marks them as an "outsider." Some lament their parents' desires to assimilate; others discuss how they pass on their Arab culture to their children. Not all negotiate this space the same way, but all engage with these questions daily.
On Home and Belonging
For many Arab Americans, home is not easy to define. All our narrators express a sense of longing and connection to a homeland that feels inaccessible. That original home may have been destroyed by war, may be off limits due to occupation, or may have changed beyond recognition. Many have worked hard to create a new home on the Central Coast. As Edward Said writes, "Exiles are cut off from their roots, their land, their past." But despite the pain, exile can represent more than just loss. Our narrators display a critical self-awareness based not only on loss but on continuous possibility. Home is more than an actual place—it is anywhere one can live in safety, with dignity, and with the right to create a habitable world for their families.
Community & Legacy
Building community, shared authority, and combating symbolic annihilation.
Community-Building and "Shared Authority"
Another goal of "Mawtini" has been to initiate meaningful community-building to more proactively advocate for Arab Americans in San Luis Obispo. Oral history can be a powerful advocacy tool for marginalized communities. Michael Frisch argues that oral history is a "shared authority"—one in which the historian, narrators, and public share in the interpretive and meaning-making process. On September 9, 2025, we held a workshop where the leadership team, interviewers, narrators, and Arab community members came together to discuss common themes and how our community can better organize and advocate for ourselves. This was the first step in a community-building process that has continued beyond this project.
Arabs in the Archive
Feminist scholars developed the concept of "symbolic annihilation" to describe what happens when marginalized groups are omitted, vilified, or trivialized by mainstream media. Archival scholars have expanded this concept to the absence of materials documenting communities like Arab Americans, who are treated "as if they did not exist." A search into Cal Poly's Special Collections found minimal materials on Arab Americans in San Luis Obispo. This archival void reflects the invisibility that many Arab students, faculty, and staff have expressed feeling. As an oral history and community archiving project, "Mawtini" aims to confront and counter the ongoing symbolic annihilation of Arab Americans in mainstream archives, media, and academic institutions.
When people say, like, 'Go back home, go back to where you came from.' Give us that place! We'll gladly go…
Join Us on January 24th
Be part of this historic community gathering. Connect with your neighbors, learn about Arab American experiences, and help us celebrate the launch of this important oral history project.
Date
January 24, 2026
Time
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location
Cal Poly Library
Admission
Free Admission
In Partnership With
This community launch is made possible through the collaboration of local organizations dedicated to preserving diverse histories.
City of San Luis Obispo
Peace Academy of the Sciences and Arts
Our Roots / Our Routes
In every story shared, a bridge is built. In every voice heard, understanding grows. We look forward to welcoming you to our community launch.
Questions? Contact us