April is Arab American Heritage Month! Your library is here to celebrate, serve, and connect with all cultures and communities across Oakland. So please join us in celebrating Arabic and Arab American culture and history!
1) Enjoy Yemeni coffee with a friend
Guests are invited to enjoy authentic Yemeni coffee delivered with love, straight from the beautiful farms of Haraz, along with freshly brewed tea and traditional Yemeni pastries. Meet Yasir, the owner of Mohka cafe in Dimond district, and learn more about their passion for sharing culture through hospitality.
This event is hosted at various library branches. Please click the link to find specific dates and times.
2) Read Arabic & Arab-American books
A mix of fiction and non-fiction books in Arabic are available at the West Oakland, Dimond, and César E. Chávez branches. Browse our catalog to place our Arabic books on hold for you to pick up at your nearest library branch. Call or visit these branch's reference desks for specific questions about their collections.
OR
Read Arab American authors as featured in the following librarian-curated booklists:
3) Garden with the family in Arabic
Invite friends and family to connect with the land while discussing the gardening tips you learned from our seed library zine and brochures translated to Arabic. Brochures on seed saving and container gardening as well as a fun OPL seed library zine are available to print out from our seed library page or to pick them up from your local library branch.
(Thanks to the hard work of our translation team, print materials for major library programming, like summer reading and seed libraries, are available in various languages, including Arabic, so your library can better connect with patrons.)
4) Learn traditional Palestinian embroidery
Join us for an intimate Tatreez embroidery workshop with Palestinian artist and educator, Amanne Sharif. Amanne bridges ancestral storytelling with contemporary design, guiding participants stitch by meaningful stitch. Learn this traditional art form not just as a craft, but as an act of connection to Palestine’s land, people, and culture. Through this hands-on session, you'll weave together history, technique, and personal expression while honoring the deep roots of Palestinian embroidery.
Registration is required as space is limited to 15 participants. This event is hosted at various library branches. Please click the link to find specific dates and times.
5) Learn about Arab immigration to the Bay Area
Library staff came together to bring you this brief history of Arab immigration to the San Francisco Bay Area.
"The history of the San Francisco Bay Area is defined by its diverse immigrant communities. For over a century, Arab Americans have been a vital part of this fabric. While often viewed as a monolith, the Arab presence in the Bay Area is the result of distinct waves of migration, each driven by different geopolitical shifts, economic opportunities, and dreams."
Keep reading to unravel the history!
How will you celebrate?
Find more free library programs and resources for Arab American Heritage month on this specially designed webpage.
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