Orange County Dems Honor James Zogby, Arab American Institute President, with Nagi Daifallah Social Justice Award

Orange County Dems Honor James Zogby, Arab American Institute President, with Nagi Daifallah Social Justice Award, June 11

Washington, DC – On Saturday, June 11, the California Democratic Party of Orange County’s 72nd Assembly Democratic Alliance will honor Arab American Institute (AAI) President Dr. James Zogby for his work to advance civil liberties and empower Arab Americans at the 16th Annual Orange County Flag Day celebration. The award is named after Nagi Daifallah, a 24 year-old immigrant from Yemen and Arab American who was killed during the UFW grape strike of 1973

For more than 30 years, Zogby has been at the forefront of the struggle for civil liberties and Arab American political activism. Playing a key role in the bedrock organizations of the Arab American community, Zogby co-founded and chaired the Palestine Human Rights Campaign in the late 1970s, and later co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. In 1982, he co-founded Save Lebanon, Inc., a private non-profit, humanitarian and non-sectarian relief organization which funded health care for Palestinian and Lebanese victims of war, and other social welfare projects in Lebanon. In 1985, Zogby founded AAI, a Washington, D.C.-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community. Zogby and AAI have led Arab American efforts to secure political empowerment in the U.S. through voter registration, education and mobilization.

In 2010, Zogby published the highly-acclaimed book, Arab Voices. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee and was appointed by President Obama to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in 2013. USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world, dedicated to defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad. Dr. Zogby was reappointed to a second term in 2015.

Nagi Daifflah:

Twenty-four-year-old United Farm Workers activist Nagi Daifallah was killed by a sheriff’s deputy during the grape strike of 1973. Nagi came to the U.S. from his native Yemen looking for a better life and was seen as a leader among farm workers, including fellow Arab Americans, for his activism.

Of Nagi, Cesar Chavez said, “Like so many thousands of Farm Workers, [Nagi] came to this country seeking opportunity and fell into the trap of poverty and powerlessness that has enslaved so many migrant Farm Workers in our country. He joined the United Farm Workers Union and gave himself fully to the grape strike and the struggle for justice…. We are faced with discrimination, exploitation, and even slaughter…. In the struggle to change these evils, Nagi gave his life.”