Statement from ADC Staff: The Board Must Go, Return ADC to the Community

To the ADC Board of Directors,

To the ADC Board of Directors and the Arab American community,

We write as staff members of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) because we believe in ADC’s mission and in the responsibility this organization carries to our community. ADC is at a critical juncture: we can either allow failed board leadership to further damage this organization, or we can insist on new leadership and the structural reforms necessary to protect its future.

ADC was built to serve, protect, and defend the Arab American community against bigotry, discrimination, and attacks on our civil rights and free expression. That mission is bigger than any one of us, and it is certainly bigger than its board. While staff have continued carrying out this work every day, ADC’s leadership has repeatedly failed to uphold the accountability our mission requires.

We want to be clear: we are referring to serious harms in ADC’s history and to the organization’s failure to repair that damage or rebuild trust. These failures have been especially grave in matters involving sexual harassment and assault against women who dedicated their time and labor to this organization.

We stand with over a dozen women, including Representative Rashida Tlaib, who were harmed and failed by the institution that should have protected them. We believe survivors, and we are committed to ensuring their safety and dignity moving forward.

All of ADC’s full-time staff are Arab women defending our communities through legal defense, policy work, and direct support for students, workers, and community members targeted for Palestine organizing and advocacy. It is because of our commitment to protecting civil and political rights, to a free Palestine, and to those on the front lines of this movement that we issue these demands. We do so to protect that work and to preserve ADC’s mission under conditions worthy of the community we serve.

Today, a leadership and governance crisis is undermining our work, destabilizing the organization, and eroding trust with coalition partners, chapters, and community members. As of this week, employees have filed formal complaints alleging a hostile work environment created by board members. These complaints are under active investigation and must be handled independently, transparently, and with full accountability. Anything less would be another betrayal of ADC’s mission and of the people who continue to shoulder its work.

As a board member, Dr. Ed Hasan raised serious concerns about a hostile work environment, harassment, and board overreach into operations. Dr. Hasan was then removed from his role on the board “without cause” by the same board chair whose conduct and governance he questioned, under bylaws that were not part of his agreement as a board member.

A nonprofit board is meant to provide stewardship, oversight, fiduciary responsibility, and accountability to the mission. It is not meant to operate without transparency, interfere in operations, or place its own preservation above the organization it is supposed to serve. ADC’s board has repeatedly overstepped its role, and the consequences now threaten the institution's credibility and future.

We reject the expectation that staff should carry the burden of these failures in silence. The work of defending our communities is too important to be undermined by dysfunction, retaliation, and a compromised leadership. The Arab American community deserves an organization rooted in dignity, transparency, and accountability. Staff deserve protection from retaliation in an environment governed with integrity.

It is for these reasons that we call on board members who were complicit in harm, cover-up, retaliation, or ongoing failures of accountability to resign immediately and make way for new leadership.

We further call for:

  • An interim leadership transition to stabilize the organization

  • A public statement acknowledging past sexual harassment and misconduct, and an apology to all the women who were harmed and failed by ADC

  • An independent, third-party investigation into both past and current concerns

  • Transparent board elections and the democratization of governance to define and limit the board’s role

  • Enforceable workplace protections, ethical treatment, and immunity from retaliation for staff

  • An immediate freeze on all new hires, terminations, and significant personnel changes until governance and leadership issues are resolved

ADC must belong to the community. We answer first to the Arab American community that has built, sustained, and entrusted in our mission that is larger than any board or its chair. No small group of individuals has the right to compromise that mission while expecting staff and community members to absorb the consequences.

Finally, we call on ADC members, donors, chapters, partner organizations, and supporters to stand with staff, join in demanding board resignations, and support a transition that returns ADC to the community.
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ADC 4 Community
Washington, DC

To: To the ADC Board of Directors,
From: [Your Name]

We write as members, donors, partners, and supporters of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) because we believe in ADC’s mission and in the responsibility this organization carries to its community.

ADC was built to serve, protect, and defend the Arab American community against bigotry, discrimination, and attacks on our civil rights and free expression. However, ADC’s leadership has repeatedly failed to uphold the accountability its mission requires. Those failures have been especially grave in matters involving sexual harassment and assault against women who dedicated their time and labor to the organization. We stand with over two dozen women, including Representative Rashida Tlaib, who were harmed and failed by the institution that should have protected them.

This leadership and governance crisis is undermining ADC's work, destabilizing the organization, and eroding our trust as members, coalition partners, chapters, and community members. As of this week, employees have filed formal complaints alleging a hostile work environment created by board members. These complaints are under active investigation and must be handled independently, transparently, and with full accountability. Anything less would be another betrayal of ADC’s mission and of the people who continue to support its work.

A nonprofit board is meant to provide stewardship, oversight, fiduciary responsibility, and accountability to the mission. It is not meant to operate without transparency, interfere in operations, or place its own preservation above the organization it is supposed to serve. ADC’s board has repeatedly overstepped its role, and the consequences now threaten the institution's credibility and future.

ADC's work is too important to be undermined by dysfunction, retaliation, and compromised leadership. The Arab American community deserves an organization rooted in dignity, transparency, and accountability. Staff deserve protection from retaliation in an environment governed with integrity.

It is for these reasons that we call on board members who were complicit in harm, cover-up, retaliation, or ongoing failures of accountability to resign immediately and make way for new leadership.

We further call for:

- An interim leadership transition to stabilize the organization

- A public statement acknowledging past sexual harassment and misconduct, and an apology to all the women who were harmed and failed by ADC

- An independent, third-party investigation into both past and current concerns

- Transparent board elections and the democratization of governance to define and limit the board’s role

- Enforceable workplace protections, ethical treatment, and immunity from retaliation for staff

- An immediate freeze on all new hires, terminations, and significant personnel changes until governance and leadership issues are resolved

ADC must belong to the community. As ADC members, chapters, partner organizations, and supporters who have entrusted in its mission, we stand with the staff, join in demanding board resignations, and support a transition that returns ADC to the community.

Sincerely,