Sacramento, CA — California has officially recognized its Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) communities with the signing of Assemblymember John Harabedian’s (D-Pasadena) AB 91, the MENA Inclusion Act, into law. The bill requires all state agencies, boards, and commissions to include a MENA category in their demographic data collection—ensuring communities that have long been rendered invisible are finally counted.

This bill has a long and strong story. After three years of grassroots community advocacy, a coalition of MENA-serving and MENA-led organizations worked together to advocate for the bill. They gathered more than 4000 signatures and educated the masses on the importance of the bill. The community's persistence paid off in what is the most inclusive MENA category in the nation.

“California is home to a thriving MENA community that has too often been undercounted and underrepresented,” said Assemblymember John Harabedian. “As an Armenian American, I know that when our communities are overlooked, we lose resources, voice, and influence. California must lead on MENA recognition and set the national standard for inclusion.”

“After years of grassroots advocacy led by MENA-serving communities, California has taken a historic step forward to say: ‘We see you.’ For too long, MENA Californians have lived as ‘visibly invisible,’ left out of the data that drives state services - resulting in gaps and inaccuracies. Today, that changes. We are proud of Assemblymember John Harabedian’s tireless leadership, and even prouder of the community whose persistence made this victory possible. With AB-91 now law, California has officially recognized the MENA community, and we look forward to its implementation and the lasting benefits it will bring,” said Amin Nash, Arab American Civic Council, Co-Chair of the CA MENA Civil Rights Coalition

AB 91 corrects decades of misclassification that counted MENA residents as “white,” denying them accurate representation and access to services. With this law, families, students, and seniors will finally be seen in the data that drives California’s policies and resources.

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