The ACLU's First Amendment campaign reminds us that Muslims and Arabs are protected by the Constitution too.
By May Berry, Executive Director, Arab American Institute
In 2006, a human rights advocate, who is a friend, was prevented from boarding his flight from New York to California because of Arabic.
Yes, Arabic. The language spoken by more than 400 million people worldwide, making it one of the top five languages in the world and reportedly the fastest growing in the U.S., was the culprit.
My friend was wearing a T-shirt with the words "We will not be silent" in both Arabic and English. He was told he could not fly until the offending Arabic script was covered. And lest we think our issues with Arabic have resolved themselves in the last decade, remember that simply speaking Arabic on an airplane was grounds for removal from a flight just last year.
How we got to this point is a complicated matter, but the path forward doesn't have to be.
Read the full post here.
See "The Constitution is For Everyone" video here.
