{"id":2135,"date":"2019-05-04T01:30:36","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T22:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=2135"},"modified":"2019-06-08T00:14:11","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T21:14:11","slug":"hes-one-of-us-yemeni-community-thrilled-by-adel-mozips-appointment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/hes-one-of-us-yemeni-community-thrilled-by-adel-mozips-appointment\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He\u2019s one of us\u2019: Yemeni community thrilled by Adel Mozip\u2019s appointment"},"content":{"rendered":"
Adel Mozip has become the first Yemeni American trustee on the Dearborn Board of Education. While some may say \u201cIt\u2019s only the school board\u201d, the achievement has left the city\u2019s Yemeni American community overjoyed.<\/strong><\/h6>\n

YAN – Dearborn<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nIt is a historic first that will motivate the youth and be the catalyst for greater participation in public life from Yemeni Americans, community advocates have said.
\nMoreover, the school board sets policies that affect entire generations of people in the city. The position may not be the most prestigious, but it remains influential and important.
\nMozip has repeatedly tried to make it to the board, by running for elections and applying to be appointed to vacancies. This resilience is a lesson that other activists can follow.
\nThe new trustee is also not an appointment to increase diversity. With a college degrees in computer science and business and keen enthusiasm for education, Mozip is a valuable addition to the board.<\/p>\n

\u2018Role model\u2019<\/strong>
\nAhmad Qahman, a Ford Motor Company employee with two children in the district, said Mozip\u2019s appointment means a lot to him and his kids.
\n\u201cFirst, it means that as a Yemeni community, now we have a presence through our educated youth on the board,\u201d he said. \u201cSecond, my children have a role model for leadership and education in their own schools.\u201d
\nFor his part Wali al-Tahif, a Yemeni American activist who has a child in the Dearborn Schools, said the appointment is a \u201chistoric moment\u201d for Yemeni Americans in the city.
\n\u201cHe will represent our community brilliantly and open the door for the new generation,\u201d Tahif said of Mozip. \u201cHe will also be a great addition to the board as someone from a new and diverse generation.\u201d
\nIn a city with a growing Yemeni American community, Dearborn lacks Yemeni representation. While Arab Americans have made strides in the city council where both the council president and pro tem are of Lebanese descent, Yemenis are yet to be elected to local office.
\nCommunity members say the hope that Mozip\u2019s appointment will lead to more balanced representation, where the city\u2019s leaders look like its population.
\n\u201cAdel\u2019s appointment is a victory for democracy. He will be a great representative and advocate for our kids,\u201d said Youssef al-Qabash.<\/p>\n

\u2018He\u2019s one of us\u2019<\/strong>
\nAli al-Qirsh echoed that comment, saying that the appointment will be the beginning for greater city-wide political and civic participation by Yemeni Americans.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a success for the entire Arab community,\u201d he said.
\nYasser al-Soufi said beyond his Yemeni heritage, Mozip is the right man for the job.
\n\u201cHe is the best for this position,\u201d Soufi said. \u201cNot only because of his skills and experience, but also his passion for education and commitment to public service. He has the energy and work ethic to be a role model for students of all colors and religions across Dearborn.\u201d
\nJoseph Borrajo, a veteran Arab American activist of Yemeni descent, also hailed the appointment.
\n\u201cIt means a lot to me but it means a lot more to the community,\u201d Borrajo told the Yemeni American News. \u201cHe is a face of the community that our young people could look to and say, \u2018he\u2019s one of us.\u2019 I see a community right now that\u2019s blossoming like a huge beautiful flower in so many respects.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Adel Mozip has become the first Yemeni American trustee on the Dearborn Board of Education. While some may say \u201cIt\u2019s only the school board\u201d, the achievement has left the city\u2019s Yemeni American community overjoyed. YAN – Dearborn It is a historic first that will motivate the youth and be the catalyst for greater participation in […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2135"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2142,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2135\/revisions\/2142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}