The Middle Eastern Community in Bay Ridge

One of the most fascinating parts of local history, is identifying recent changes in the area you are looking at. In Bay Ridge, one of the most recent changes to the neighborhood was the increase in the Middle Eastern population. As more people from the Middle East make Bay Ridge their home, they bring with them a rich and diverse culture. When teaching about the Middle East in general or in the context of local history, it is crucial to make the point that the Middle East is a very culturally diverse region. Due to common false stereotypes, some people assume that everyone from the Middle East is Muslim and have the same cultural practices. This is not true as there are Catholics and Orthodox Christians who come from various Middle Eastern Countries. 

Another point that should be made when looking at both the data for Bay Ridge, and in demographic data in general would be the racial categories. While some forms are more inclusive, by adding a category for the Middle East, for much of the demographic data on Bay Ridge, there are only six categories. In talking to people who identify as Middle Eastern, this can be very challenging as they have quite a few options to choose from. When filling out these forms, some students choose the Asian category, while other students choose other.  If a student was born in Egypt, there is no clear choice for them to categorize themselves in. Not only does the lack of an individualized category skew the actual results, it is also disheartening to people who identify as being from the Middle East. Hopefully in the future there will be more inclusive on their forms and data points.

This image was accessed from here.

 As shown in the graph above, there are six categories of Ethno-Racial Composition by age. When looking at this data it is so hard to tell if there are any people who identify as Middle Eastern. This is also disappointing since there is a large Middle Eastern community, and they are not represented in the statistical data.

In recognizing the gaps in statistical data, and how it can impact those who are not being properly represented, it is important for teachers to create a warm and welcoming environment in their classrooms. According to Culturally Responsive Teaching Though a Historical Lens: Will History Repeat Itself? by Deborah A. Harmon,

".To teach using culturally responsive instruction, teachers must incorporate elements of the

students’ culture in their teaching. They listen to their students and allow students to share their personal stories. They spend considerable time in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom developing personal relationships with their students and families (Irvine & Armento, 2001)."

By allowing students to bring all of themselves (their culture, language, traditions, etc.) into the classroom, they can build relationships with their peers as well as connect to the content in a more meaningful way. It is also really important for the teacher to be in contact with the students and their families.  By highlighting the individual student, and all that they bring to the classroom, teachers are providing a culturally responsive classroom. For the student who is feeling insecure and confused of their place in the neighborhood because the form they had to fill out in school did not have a category for them, can now feel welcomed and appreciated when their personal stories are listened to in a culturally responsive modeled classroom.

After taking the honors course Race and Place in Brooklyn at St. Francis College, I was so inspired to further research and engage with the Middle Eastern and Muslim Identifying community in Brooklyn and Bay Ridge. In doing that project I learned so much about my Muslims neighbors, and their culture. This was such an important project as I had gained information about an underrepresented group in my community. From interviewing my peers in the neighborhood, I was able to gain such a wonderful insight into what their lives and culture is like. The peers I interviewed were all from different Middle Eastern countries, which enlightened me and my audience about the differences in their respective cultures. You can view an overview of my project Young Muslims in Brooklyn online. 

In addition to having research and looking into the community, it is also important to connect with actual members of that community. For students, teachers can establish partnerships with local Middle Eastern cultural/community organizations to help connect students to the people in their community. In putting this idea into practice, I researched and connected with community leader Pastor Khader El-Yateem, who  ran for City Council in 2017. Pastor El-Yateem, who was born in Bethlehem, Palestine came to the United States to further his studies in the Lutheran Faith. After being assigned to the area of Bay Ridge in 1995, Pastor El-Yateem created the Salam Arabic Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge. In getting to know the Middle Eastern community in Bay Ridge, and recognizing the need for an Arabic Lutheran Church, Pastor El-Yateem created one. 

The image was accessed from here. 

In working so closely with the Middle Eastern community in Bay Ridge. From helping to create the Unity Taskforce in the year 2000, which united leaders from various religious traditions in conjunction with local law enforcement to help ease the rising racial tensions in the neighborhood. After the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Unity Task Force greatly helped in resolving the issues that faced Bay Ridge. 

Pastor El-Yateem was also a member of Community Board 10, and decided to run for City Council in 2017. With his main motivation being to help his community in Bay Ridge. Unfortunately, El-Yateem lost the race to Councilman Justin Brannan in 2017. Not too long after the election, Pastor El-Yateem and his family moved to Florida where he is continuing to help people. 

Research is a great way to learn more about a different culture and community, and interviews are a great way to further enhance that experience. I have the privilege of actually knowing Pastor El-Yateem as his wife was the school nurse in the school my mother teaches in, and I went to school with his son. I was fortunate enough to catch up and interview Mrs. El-Yateem and ask her questions about what it was like to live in Bay Ridge as well as serve as a school nurse in the neighborhood. 

Below is the interview with Nurse El-Yateem.

1. Why did you choose to reside in the Bay Ridge/Brooklyn area? What was the most appealing factor?

We have lived in the Bay Ridge area for the past 23 years. When we were looking at a place to move our growing family from Philadelphia to Brooklyn in 1995 we did fall in love with Bay Ridge. Here was a diverse community of people from so many parts of the world. There was the area near our church on Ovington  Avenue  was an immigrant community seeking a better life for their families. Then 80th street ’s-100 had 1st and 2nd generation immigrants who had established themselves and were an example of how we can live in a new country and still  hold on to the wonderful traditions and customs of our native homeland. 

The delicious variety of foods from so many different ethnic backgrounds was nice. Even our middle eastern cuisine was diverse. There were restaurants that served food from Yamen, Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine Syria…..and that was unique to us. My children were going to school with Chinese, Italian, polish, Irish, Arab kids and that was so awesome as well.

2. Can you please describe your experience living in Bay Ridge? Were you a part of any local community events or groups?

My husband was the mission developer of Salam Arabic Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge. That means he started the congregation by going into the community and seeking people who had no church to come and attend. The interesting thing is that there are not many Lutherans in the Middle East. That didn’t matter. What was important is that we worshipped together in a language that the people understood. We bonded as a community and offered so many social services to bring the people together. English as a second language classes, Food Pantry, after School programs for the kids to have tutors help them especially because their parents didn’t speak English. We also became active in the local Bay Ridge organizations like St Nicholas Home for the elderly, Arab American Association and the Fort Hamilton Arm Base fundraisers.

3. What is your most favorite/the least favorite aspect of the neighborhood?   

My least favorite aspect of the neighborhood was being misunderstood  and discriminated upon after  9/11/2001. As an Arab American who came to America when I was 3 years old, I felt as American as everyone else. However, to the other Bay ridge residents if we were Arab it must mean we are all terrorist. That was a few difficult years of being in Bay Ridge. My favorite part of Bay Ridge is that to me its that small town feeling. When we had the festivals or the NYC marathon we pulled together as one community, we knew so many people and I found that we had many more things in common than things that  divided us.

4. As a School Nurse in the local public schools, what challenges did you see facing your students aside from acute illnesses, if any?       

Some of the challenges I faced as a school nurse in dealing with immigrants is that they needed a lot of education. They did not understand many of  their own children’s diagnosis. Parents did not know how to manage diabetes, Asthma, allergies. They needed education in English but also In their native languages’. Also, dealing with natural life issues such as menstruation. Different cultures deal with that differently, and we need to be culturally sensitive to their traditions and norms.

In talking with Nurse El-Yateem, it was so interesting to learn about what her experience was like in Bay Ridge. It was so great to see how she served the community in multiple ways. The greatest takeaway from this conversation was being able to understand what life in Bay Ridge was like for Nurse El-Yateem. This is why research combined with interviews are so valuable, because the interviews add a personalized touch to the research. I was also really intrigued by the various healthcare issues that Nurse El-Yateem faced in the schools, and never thought about the challenges that immigrant families faced. 

In having these evidence based conversations, I was able to gain so much knowledge about the Middle Eastern community in Bay Ridge. In learning from these wonderful neighbors, I will be able to carry this information with me to my future classrooms and truly develop a culturally responsive classroom.

Sources for this post:

https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/New-York/New-York/Bay-Ridge/Race-and-Ethnicity#data-map/block-group

Harmon, Deborah A. “Culturally Responsive Teaching Though a Historical Lens: Will History Repeat Itself?” Interdisciplinary Journal of Teaching and Learning 2, no. 1 (2012): 12–22.