MENA is an acronym for people of Middle Eastern and North African descent. MENA individuals are counted as “white” in most data collection methods around the nation, but our daily experiences are unique. It is estimated that there are about 4 million people of MENA descent living in the United States today, however, we are severely undercounted.
Current state and federal data collection standards place people of MENA descent in the “white” category, making it very difficult to collect data on MENA communities that is separate from the data on white communities. We need accurate data on our communities for health research, immigrant and language services, and civil rights protections, and this categorization is getting in the way.
Without this data, MENA communities are being systematically excluded.
Districts with high concentrations of MENA populations miss out on data which could identify disparities in health and educational services, arts and culture programs, and small businesses development, and the access to resources which address such disparities!
Join the movement to CountMENAin all the different data collection, policy, and programs around the nation.
CountMENAinHealth
CountMENAinIllinoisThanks to the hard work of Arab American Family Services and their partners, as of 2023 Illinois was the first state to add a MENA category in state data collection on race and ethnicity.
CountMENAinOMB
CountMENAinMaps