Articulating Brown Racial Space: Locating Egyptians in the Racial Hierarchy

• In Event: 452 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 03. Racialization

Abstract

Despite increased scholarship on the racial formation of Arabs and Middle Easterners, they often remain invisible in mainstream race theory. Using in-depth interviews with 53 Egyptians and Egyptian-Americans, this paper addresses the following questions: 1) Where are Egyptians located in America’s racial landscape? and 2) Where do Egyptians perceive themselves to be racially located within America’s racial landscape? I find that Egyptians articulate a sense of brown racial space (Sharma 2010) occupied by Arabs, Middle Easterners, South Asians, and Latinos/Hispanics that is principally defined by skin color. Not only do these groups share an intermediate racial status, characterized by varying degrees of brown skin color, they are often racialized as immigrant outsiders. Using various racial hierarchy models as a framework, I find that Egyptian racial narratives challenge the “honorary white” status most often ascribed to them on the basis of socioeconomic success. Despite high levels of education, higher than average median incomes, and overrepresentation in professional occupations, Arabs and Middle Easterners, especially those who are Muslim, are among the most vilified groups in the United States. This paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing scholarship on Arab and Middle Eastern racial formation as well as encourage those examining the color line to include Arab and Middle Eastern racial narratives, perspectives, and articulations alongside Asians and Latinos.

Author

• Bradley J Zopf, University of Illinois at Chicago