
Spotlight on Photography: Arabs In America
- Arts
- Photography
Reading time:1min
Photographed by Robert Azzi
March/April 1975
In 1975 AramcoWorld dedicated an entire issue to celebrating the lives of Arab Americans and their impact—from renowned heart surgeon Michael DeBakey to White House correspondent Helen Thomas to entertainer and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital founder Danny Thomas.
AramcoWorld deployed Robert Azzi, an Arab American himself, to tell the story through his photography.
“There were so many existing stereotypes over what Arabs and Muslims and Middle Easterners look like, how they lived, how they educated their children, what their lifestyles are,” Azzi said.
In this picture, Azzi simply posed George Coury and his wife, Amelia, by the side of their pool in Coral Gables, Florida. George had worked up from brokerage assistant to the first Arab American member of the New York Stock Exchange.
“I think what I’m saying in this picture [is] these people are just like you and me—the same ambitions, the same considerations, the same courtesy, the same hospitality,” Azzi said.
“It reflected who they were, I thought, as people. It’s easy to show people behind a desk as being a successful businessman, but it doesn’t show about how they perceive themselves as being part of a community or part of a society.
“And here they have the American dream.”
You may also be interested in...
FirstLook: Poetic Fusion
Arts
Prior to our modern practice of image manipulation with editing software, photographers worked more with planned intention and craft.FirstLook: Rain in Fayoum
Arts
I took this photo during a rainy day in November 2018 from the window of my family home in Fayoum, Egypt, located about 100 kilometers southwest of the capital. It hardly rains but a few times in the year in most parts of Egypt, and when it does, it is always something special, bringing Joy and happiness particularly for the local children.FirstLook: The Beauty of the Streets
Arts
This photo series began unexpectedly when I found that photographing people behind windows and maintaining a distance made me, and the people I photographed, feel more comfortable. I purposefully frame myself in the reflection of the window to see into the space I’m photographing. I feel every window tells a different story.