Four newly minted signs on the 5 and 91 freeways directing people to Anaheim’s Little Arabia are expected to go up as soon as late September – more than two years since Anaheim officials decided to formally recognize the business district.
Rashad Al-Dabbagh, founder of the Arab American Civic Council who helped lead successful efforts to get Little Arabia recognized, said it is exciting to see what so many Arab Americans pushed for in OC finally come to fruition.
“This is proof that when the community organizes and works together and engages with their local representatives, we can make great things happen,” he said.
“The Arab American community has been contributing to this part of Anaheim for many, many years and has created a thriving business and cultural destination.”
While the designation happened in 2022, efforts to get those signs up did not start two years ago.
Instead, it began decades ago after Arab immigrant business owners took a rundown stretch of Brookhurst Street and converted it into a cultural oasis filled with restaurants selling Kabobs, Shawarma wraps, Falafel sandwiches, flatbreads and Knafeh.
The entrepreneurs carved out a reminder of the home they left behind – one that attracts people from all over Southern California and one that withstood government mandated business closures amid a global pandemic.
For years, they advocated various rosters of city council members to recognize their contributions and designate a business district that organically formed in West Anaheim without city subsidies.
Now community leaders like Al-Dabbagh say those efforts are finally paying off.
The Fruit of Labor
Mirvette Judeh, another community leader who also advocated for the Little Arabia designation, said in a Wednesday phone interview that she pushed for the recognition so her kids have a place where they can see their identity preserved.
She added the only reason Little Arabia wasn’t recognized sooner was politics and prejudice.
Judeh, a Palestinian American, said the signs are a glimmer of hope amid what’s happening in Palestine.
“These signs,” Judeh said, “mean that we exist, mean that we are here to stay, mean that our contributions as a community have been acknowledged.”
Judeh said that Little Arabia used to colloquially be called “Little Gaza.”
She also said the signs will bring in business in the area, attract investments and provide non-Arabs a window into Arab and North African culture right here in Orange County.
“If you can’t afford to go to Palestine, if you can’t go to Jordan, if you can’t afford to go to Lebanon or Egypt, maybe Anaheim can bring you that experience here,” Judeh said.
“Just one freeway sign away.”
Next Exit: Little Arabia
On Tuesday, City Councilman Carlos Leon – who represents the district that encompasses Little Arabia – announced the freeway signs will be going up next month after officials voted in January to work with CalTrans to get the signs up.
[Read: Freeway Signs to go up Near Anaheim’s Little Arabia District]
“I’m also even more elated to share that the city is working hard on planning on the unveiling for the signs later next month,” he said at the Aug. 20 city council meeting.
City spokesman Mike Lyster said in an email last week that the signs are expected to go up around late September or October and added the planned unveiling on Brookhurst Street would be life sized replicas of the signs but did not say what day it would take place.
According to Lyster, the signs cost $15,000 to make and install and the city had to go through a long process with CalTrans to get the signs up.
“We all wish these signs were up yesterday,” he wrote. “While these signs can’t come fast enough, this process actually played out faster than what you’d typically see with freeway signs.”
City officials voted to order up the signs more than a year after Little Arabia was officially recognized.
Signs Expected in Buena Park’s Koreatown
Little Arabia is not the only cultural enclave in OC that will get signs created by CalTrans.
Earlier this month, Buena Park officials voted unanimously to enter an agreement with CalTrans to put up and maintain signs at 10 different intersections on Beach Boulevard to recognize Koreatown.
According to a staff report, the signs will cost a total of $3,500 to make and install.
The signs are expected to come after Buena Park officials in October decided to recognize a 3-mile stretch on Beach Boulevard from the Source Mall to the city’s northern border limits.
[Read: Buena Park’s Koreatown Becomes OC’s Newest Official Cultural Enclave]
Lyster said Anaheim officials are also looking to put up directional signs between the freeways and Little Arabia directing people to the cultural enclave.
What’s The Future of Little Arabia?
Al-Dabbagh said beyond the signs, community members are looking to create a Little Arabia mural and to continue working with the city to beautify the area in West Anaheim.
He adds the signs and the continued work in Little Arabia will give people an opportunity to better understand a culture and community that is often misunderstood and vilified.
“It’s a positive thing for the Arab American community, for the City of Anaheim in general, and for the whole area,” he said.
Judeh said the possibilities for the future of Little Arabia are endless, adding that there could be a cultural center, a spice market, a theater that plays Arabic movies, a library and a language center.
“Once you put those signs up there,” Judeh said, “everybody and their mother is going to want to invest in Little Arabia.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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