FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, January 6, 2025
CONTACT: Tom Steel, Tom.Steel@asm.ca.gov, (916) 319-2288
Assemblymember John Harabedian Introduces the MENA Inclusion Act to Fight Erasure of Ethnic Groups
(SACRAMENTO, CA) - Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena) introduced his first bill, AB 91 the MENA Inclusion Act, aimed at ensuring Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) ethnic groups are accurately represented and recognized in demographic data collected by the state of California.
“The MENA Inclusion Act is a vital step in fulfilling our commitment to represent and serve every Californian,” said Assemblymember Harabedian. “Accurate data representation is essential for informed policy making, and by recognizing the MENA community as a unique and diverse group, we can tackle our communities' distinct challenges and ensure that our state policy truly reflects the diverse needs of all its residents. As an American of Armenian heritage whose family came to the United States during the Armenian Genocide, we know erasure in data directly translates to erasure in visibility, resources, and representation for California’s communities.”
California is home to approximately 740,219 individuals of Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) descent who are currently not reflected in federal and state data. Accurate MENA-specific data is crucial for improving resource allocation, state planning, and policy interventions to better serve our community. In response to this gap, the Biden administration has announced a distinct MENA category in the 2030 U.S. Census, and New York has already passed similar legislation.
The MENA Inclusion Act will require that starting January 1, 2026, state agencies, boards, and commissions in California that collect demographic data on ancestry or ethnic origin must include separate categories for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) groups. These groups include, but are not limited to:
Middle Eastern: Afghan, Bahraini, Emirati, Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Lebanese, Omani, Palestinian, Qatari, Saudi Arabian, Syrian, Turkish, and Yemeni.
North African: Algerian, Djiboutian, Egyptian, Libyan, Mauritanian, Moroccan, Somali, Sudanese, and Tunisian.
Transnational Middle Eastern and North African: Amazigh, Armenian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Circassian, and Kurdish.
“The CA MENA Civil Rights Coalition applauds the introduction of the MENA Inclusion Act. California is home to a vibrant and diverse MENA community that has positively impacted the state for generations. However, the lack of a formal MENA category in demographic data has perpetuated inequities in healthcare, education, civil rights, and economic opportunities,” said The CA MENA Civil Rights Coalition. “The passage of the MENA Inclusion Act will enable policymakers and community organizations to accurately assess and address disparities faced by MENA populations, ensure the equitable allocation of resources across healthcare, education, and economic development, and recognize and uplift the unique cultural and economic contributions of MENA communities to California.”
“The Armenian National Committee of America - Western Region (ANCA-WR) is proud to support the California MENA Inclusion Act, a historic step in rectifying a long-standing injustice that has erased the distinct identities of Armenian-Americans through inaccurate and exclusionary practices of self-identification,” said Oshin Harootoonian, Chair of the ANCA-WR Board of Directors. “By ensuring proper representation, this legislation empowers our community to confront systemic challenges—whether in healthcare, education, or civic engagement—while preserving and affirming our unique heritage. We commend Assemblymember Harabedian for championing this milestone, which boldly asserts that our voices and identities matter.
“The California MENA Inclusion Act is a major leap forward in advancing the civil rights of our communities, including Armenian-Americans. For far too long, MENA-Americans have been invisibilized, marginalized, and misrepresented. With this bill, we, as MENA-Americans in California, are speaking for ourselves and declaring boldly that we must be represented too. As Armenian-American Action Network, we know data on MENA-Americans will break down many doors in issue areas that our communities face every day— from healthcare and housing to education, business, representation, voting rights, and the arts, and will help us fight erasure and discrimination. The introduction of the bill from Assemblymember Harabedian represents a major milestone for MENA communities in California. It is time to #CountMENAInCA” said Dr. Sophia Armen, Executive Director, Armenian-American Action Network
AB 91 will be heard in Assembly policy committees this spring.
Assemblymember John Harabedian represents the 41st District composed of the cities of La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, Bradbury, San Dimas, La Verne, Claremont, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Oak Hills, Piñon Hills and Phelan.