DeKALB — “Healing Through Heritage: Honoring Arab American Heritage Month,” an event sponsored by the Division of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in cooperation with the NIU Arab Student Association, was held Wednesday in the Holmes Student Center.
The event featured cultural food, Egyptian card games, henna and a student panel. Henna is a natural plant dye and was used to create designs on the skin of the attendees.
Nicole Zaknoun, moderator of the student panel and graduate research assistant, spoke about the meaning behind the event before the panel began.
“It reflects not only my identity, but the experiences, traditions and stories that so many of us here tonight carry with us,” Zaknoun said. “When we say ‘healing through heritage,’ we’re talking about the ways that culture can ground us, connect us and restore us.”
During the panel, Zaknoun gave her thoughts on what she resonates with in her culture.
“Middle Eastern Arab cultures are very, very welcoming,” Zaknoun said. “I feel like our culture has just always been very welcoming and generous and selfless, and I feel like I really resonate with that.”
After the student panel, students were given time to participate in the activities offered before a performance from the Harmelodics.
The Harmelodics are an all-treble a cappella group with a mission to make and spread music. They performed a piece titled “All Good People” by Delta Rae.
Sondos Hassan, a junior health sciences major and vice president of Harmelodics, spoke about why they chose this piece specifically.
“This is a song that we do every single semester, always here at NIU,” Hassan said. “And the reason that this song is so near and dear to our hearts is that it was created after a brutal shooting of a church in Charleston, South Carolina, that was a hate crime. It was a racially motivated crime against a Black church.”
Hassan went on to discuss how the meaning behind the piece connected to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
When you listen to the song, and you listen to the meaning of the song, you’ll hear anthems about sticking up for your fellow brother, even though the problems that they face are not the problems that you face,” Hassan said. “We, as Americans, we, as brothers, we, as sisters, have an obligation. We have a duty to stick up for our fellow brothers and sisters, even if the problems that they’re experiencing don’t inherently affect us. And the reason that we’re choosing to perform the song today is that this message is so everlastingly present in what’s going on today in the Middle East.”
After the song was performed, the event wrapped up with a Dabke performance by AlHoriyah Dabka, a Chicago-based professional Dabka team. Dabke is a Levantine folk dance of circle and line dancing. The crowd was encouraged to participate in the dance as well.
“Whole Wellness: Yoga for Stress Relief,” another event with the Department of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, will be held at 7 p.m. Monday in the Recreation Center, Studio B.
