About James Abourezk
James George Abourezk was an American attorney and politician from South Dakota. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in both chambers of the United States Congress for one term each, and was the first Arab to serve in the United States Senate. After he left Congress, Abourezk in 1980 founded the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) with the goal of counteracting anti-Arab racism in the country. He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War and was also a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly with regard to the Arab–Israeli conflict. Under his leadership, the ADC became especially active following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf War, during which he became concerned about the rising rate of targeted hate crimes against Arabs and also against people mistaken for Arabs.
