MENA Data Inclusion
Count MENA in El Cajon
Over 25,000 El Cajon residents are missing from the data!
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Nearly one million Californians come from Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) communities.
This category consists of national and transnational groups, including but not limited to:
Afghan, Algerian, Amazigh or Berber, Armenian, Assyrian, Bahraini, Chaldean, Circassian, Djiboutian, Egyptian, Emirati, Iranian, Iraqi, Jordanian, Kurdish, Kuwaiti, Lebanese, Libyan, Mauritanian, Moroccan, Omani, Palestinian, Qatari, Saudi Arabian, Somali, Sudanese, Syrian, Tunisian, Turkish, and Yemeni.
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Historically, MENA communities have not been counted in state or federal data. Instead, they get absorbed into “White” or “Other” categories, which means we do not have accurate data on health, housing, education, and economic status of MENA populations.
No data means no funding for healthcare, etc.
The CountMENAIn Campaign is pushing for the collection of MENA data, to accurately represent the unique identities and needs of MENA communities.
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According to 2020 Census data, approximately 25,000 individuals self-reported MENA Ancestry. This is very likely an undercount, because many MENA individuals are used to checking “White” or other categories when filling out government forms that typically lack a separate MENA category.
In addition to this, El Cajon has seen a significant increase in immigrant and refugee populations from the MENA region.
Taking these factors into account, we estimate that between 25% and 33% of El Cajon’s current population is MENA.
Endorse The Campaign
El Cajon is a rich city built upon its diverse communities and their various contributions to the region. However, we estimate that at least 30% of El Cajon’s population has been miscategorized and underrepresented within local data systems.
AB-91, the California MENA Inclusion Act, recently signed into law by Governor Newsom, aims to rectify this issue by properly disaggregating state data on historically invisibilized communities such as Arab, Armenian, Iranian, Lebanese, Kurdish, Assyrian, Sudanese, Somali, Afghan, Amazigh, and others with ancestry in the Middle East and North Africa.
We are urging El Cajon City Council to pass a resolution formally supporting AB-91, recognizing MENA communities, and expressing the City’s intent to collaborate with local MENA organizations on a pilot demographic survey.
Please add your information below to sign onto the letter urging the passage of El Cajon City’s MENA resolution. Upon signing, your name, title, and organization will appear under “The Undersigned” on the final letter, to be sent to El Cajon City Council.