American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) states that it is "the largest Arab American grassroots civil rights organization in the United States." According to its webpage it is open to people of all backgrounds, faiths and ethnicities and has a national network of chapters and members in all 50 states. It claims that three million Americans trace their roots to an Arab country. The ADC seeks to “empower Arab Americans, defend the civil rights of all people, promote Arab cultural heritage, promote civic participation, encourage a balanced US policy in the Middle East and support freedom and development in the Arab World.” ADC has a number of programs to combat discrimination and bias against Arab-Americans, including stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims. The ADC is a member of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and has a seat on its executive committee.

ADC was founded in 1980 by James Abourezk, the first Arab-American United States Senator. Samer Khalaf, an attorney from New Jersey who was on the national board and executive committee of the ADC, and former interim legal director, became ADC national president in December 2013.

The Advisory Board of the ADC has included Muhammad Ali, Queen Noor of Jordan, Casey Kasem, United States House of Representatives members John Conyers, Darrell Issa and Nick Joe Rahall, former member Paul Findley, Archbishop Philip Saliba and others.

The ADC Legal Department offers counseling in cases of discrimination, defamation and hate crimes and provides assistance in selected litigation. Since September 11, ADC attorneys have addressed hundreds of cases against airlines and employers for discrimination on the basis of ethnicity and national origin and against the United States government for discriminatory detentions of Arabs and Muslims without probable cause .

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