Floor Speech2025-01-28

RECOGNIZING OSAMA SIBLANI'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO JOURNALISM IN MICHIGAN AND THE NATION

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Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2025)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E76] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] RECOGNIZING OSAMA SIBLANI'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO JOURNALISM IN MICHIGAN AND THE NATION ______ HON. DEBBIE DINGELL of michigan in the house of representatives Tuesday, January 28, 2025 Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Osama Siblani of Dearborn, Michigan, on the occasion of his 70th birthday. As founder and publisher of The Arab American News since 1984, his publication has been a crucial addition to the national conversation for over forty years, and his efforts are worthy of commendation. Osama was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1955, and came to the United States in 1976 on a one-way ticket and $185 in his pocket to further his education. Working odd jobs, sometimes three at a time, Osama saved up enough to attend the University of Detroit Mercy and graduated with an engineering degree in 1979. In the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, he realized that the Arab American voice was missing from how major media covered events in the Middle East. Motivated by this and having settled in Dearborn, the Nation's largest Arab American community, Osama founded The Arab American News in 1984. The Arab American News quickly became a local favorite due to it being published in both Arabic and English, though this did mean that he needed to bring staff and typesetting equipment in from the Middle East and was essentially publishing two newspapers in one. Osama's political wisdom combined with his ability to bridge the knowledge gaps of American audiences meant that The Arab American News rapidly became the national media's most popular resource for Arab and Arab American opinions and analyses. In 2003, he addressed the American Society of Newspaper Editors at their annual convention. Osama is also a Frequent lecturer on U.S.-Arab relations and the role of minority media in America at several institutions, including the Columbia University School of Journalism, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Central Michigan University and Wayne State University, among others. In 2011, he hosted the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) convention in Detroit with a grand opening reception in Dearborn, Michigan. Osama has always been a staunch supporter of Arab rights, even when the newspaper offices got vandalized and his life was threatened. Whether it was supporting the Palestinians, opposing the 1991 Gulf War, or trying to avert the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Osama didn't quiet down and kept publishing. As a major voice for the Arab American community, he also helped found the Congress of Arab American Organizations (CAAO) as well as the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC). In support of his community, Osama is the Chairman of the Board of the Garden City Hospital and is also a member of the BRIDGES Program (Building Respect in Diverse Groups to Enhance Sensitivity), a partnership between federal law enforcement agencies and leaders in the Arab American and Middle Eastern communities in the metro-Detroit region to encourage and facilitate dialogue. He has received many awards for his journalistic work, including the ``Spirit of Diversity in Journalism'' award from Wayne State University as well as being inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 2013. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in celebrating Osama Siblani for his contributions to journalism on the occasion of his 70th birthday. For the last 41 years, his voice has rung loud and clear as an advocate for Arab lives around the world and has become a crucial piece of our national discourse. We thank him for his decades of hard work and wish him the happiest of birthdays. I thank Osama.

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