Who Are Armenian-Americans?
Armenian-American Action Network is an advocacy and research organization fighting anti-Armenian racism in the United States, teaching Armenian-American history, and forwarding civil rights, immigrant rights, and refugee rights for our and all communities.
Who are Armenian-Americans?
Armenians are a nation in West Asia within the South West Asian and North African (SWANA) region. They are transnational indigenous people whose homeland spans many current-day nation states, and is not limited to one geographic border. Armenians continue to face ongoing erasure, displacement and discrimination in their homeland(s). Despite this, over 10 million Armenians worldwide continue to make contributions across the globe in all areas of social, economic and political life. Scholars estimate Armenian-Americans currently number up to 1 million in the United States, with the majority of the population living in California. Armenian-Americans come from many different countries, including the Republic of Armenia, Syria, Iran and many more.
A Brief History of Armenian-Americans and Anti-Armenian Discrimination
by Dr. Sophia Armen and Dr. Thomas Dolan
Fleeing the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Turkish government of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, many Armenians came to the Central Valley of California, where they faced state sanctioned discrimination in housing, education, healthcare, politics, marriage and family life, and immigration. Early Armenian refugees were threatened with mass deportation under Anti-Asian exclusion and Immigration Bans and organized for naturalization along with other West Asian groups. The United States government through multiple court cases attempts to deny Armenians the right to naturalization and American citizenship. Despite finally winning a legal battle for the right to naturalization via Halladjian and Cartozian, anti-Armenian racism persisted from the federal to local level. Racial covenants denied home ownership to Armenians and ubiquitous exclusion from organizations like fraternities, clubs, and business organizations led Armenians to form many of their own. Anti-refugee racism and Orientalism dominated portrayals of Armenians during the earliest Armenian displacement to the United States and persisted in subsequent waves of immigration. Nonetheless, Armenians organized themselves and created thriving cultural, philanthropic and social organizations. Descendants from these early generations pursued a range of divergent professional and political careers, including Oscar and Pulitzer-prize winner William Saroyan, Ross Bagdasarian, the creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks; developer and philanthropist Kirk Kerkorian, George Deukmejian, California Governor and Attorney General; Diana Der Hovanessian, poet and translator, as well as revolutionary political activists like defense attorney Charles Garry who forged solidarities with the Black Panthers and other civil rights activists.
Armenians in the early 1960s to the 1980s were subjected again to another wave of Orientalism, anti-immigrant, and anti-refugee racism. Like many other West Asian groups, the Immigration Act of 1965, built on the wins of the early days of the civil rights era, impacted the Armenian community coming to the United States. Following major events like the Nakba, the Lebanese Civil War, and the Iranian Revolution, Armenian-Americans coming to the United States and Armenian-American organizations were subjected to targeted campaigns of surveillance and discrimination. Meanwhile, during the Cold War, Armenians immigrating from the USSR, were subjected to red-scare tactics in the United States. Despite these realities, Armenians built thriving organizations, schools and businesses throughout California, particularly in the city of Los Angeles and greater Los Angeles County. Armenian-American organizations like the Armenian National Committee of America and Armenian Assembly organized large scale campaigns like United States aid to the Republic of Armenia, the United States recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and the election of Armenian-Americans to public office.
In more recent decades, Armenians have suffered as a result of racism that paints West Asia in broad strokes and dehumanizes our communities. Armenians were impacted by the NSEERS program and were banned by the thousands from the United States along with Armenian-Americans being separated from their families in their home countries via Executive Order 13769. Throughout the history of Armenian immigration to the United States, Armenian students have faced discriminatory practices in schools ranging from deficit oriented perspectives regarding their culture to subtractive assimilation and language acquisition approaches. Despite these realities Armenian-Americans have organized successful campaigns today organizing for representation and electoral power, building support for the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh, creating cultural work that is read, heard and watched by millions like the work of musician Serj Tankian, author Chris Bohjalian, Pulitzer Prize winner Peter Balakian, novelist and Nancy Kricorian, and successfully advocating for Congressional recognition and the House and Senate passage of the U.S. Recognition of the Armenian Genocide, among other legislation in 2019. Armenian-Americans continue to uplift their connection to their homeland, and fight for international support for the Armenian homeland. Armenian-Americans continue to contribute to every industrial, cultural and political institution in the United States, forging solidarities with other communities and calling for a more just and inclusive America.