By Nargis Rahman
Metro Detroit Arab American activist Ismael “Ish” Ahmed has died. He was 78 years old.
Ahmed co-founded the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) in 1971, created by a group of volunteers out of a Dearborn storefront to assist Arab Americans.
He served as the Executive Director from 1983-2006.
In a Facebook post, ACCESS President and CEO Maha Freij, says Ahmed was dear to many in the Metro Detroit community, from laying the foundations of ACCESS to later serving as the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director under Governor Jennifer Granholm’s administration, “becoming the first and only Arab American to hold one of the state’s most significant cabinet roles.”
“The impact of his contributions to ACCESS, our community, and the State of Michigan cannot be overstated. Our thoughts are with his wife, Margaret, their children, grandchildren, and loved ones, as well as the many friends and colleagues mourning this loss. He will be deeply missed,” Freij says.
According to ACLU Michigan, Ismael Ahmed was born in Brooklyn in 1947 to an Egyptian father and Lebanese mother. He moved to Detroit when he was six. He was drafted in the army in the 1960s.
Ahmed served as an Associate Provost for Integrated Learning and Community Partnerships at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He was the recipient of the 2013 “Neal Shine Award for Exemplary Regional Leadership” Shining Light Award. In 2021 he received globalFEST’s Pioneer Award, presented to an elder who has impacted on the community through global music.
In 2021, Ahmed was appointed by President Joe Biden to the National Council on the Arts. In 1993 he founded the Concert of Colors, a free world music festival, in 1993 to bring communities of color together. In a Facebook post by the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, the chamber says Ahmed was a visionary who advocated for families, brought people together and inspired people across differences. “The American Arab Chamber of Commerce is grateful for Ismael Ahmed’s life and legacy. His work laid pillars that will endure, and his example will continue to guide those committed to economic empowerment, civic engagement, and collective progress.”
He was also a radio host of the shows “This Island Earth,” and “Radio Free Earth,” on WDET 101.9 FM.
Ahmed also helped found the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn in 2005.
He will be remembered by many as someone who brought people together.
There will be a special celebration of life hosted for Ahmed at the 35th annual Concert of Colors in July. His family has asked people to donate to the Concert of Colors in lieu of giving flowers. Visitation and funeral information is pending.
