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Professor of anthropology at Wayne State University, active in issues and organizations specific to the Arab-American population of southeastern Michigan, particularly Dearborn, Michigan. Topical files document Arab and Arab-American culture and life. Organizational files document Aswad's involvement in such organizations as the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

The papers of Barbara Aswad consist primarily of materials relating to her involvement and activism within the Arab-American communities of metropolitan Detroit. The bulk of the collection chronicles her associations with both national and community-based Arab-American organizations, most notably the Arab-American Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) of Dearborn, Michigan. The collection has been divided into two series: Topical and Organizations.

Dearborn, Michigan community volunteer and activist with various Arab-American organizations, including the Southeast Dearborn Community Council and the Arab Community Center for Economics and Social Services. The collection includes files relating to her involvement with Arab-American organizations; also collected materials related to the Arab-American community of southeastern Michigan.

The Helen M. Atwell collection (1965-1994) contains information on Atwell, a community activist and volunteer in Southeast Dearborn. Atwell was involved with numerous organizations. A majority of the records are about Atwell's work with the Southeast Dearborn Community Council, SEDCC. Also included are materials related to her involvement with the Salina PTA, the Arab Community Center for Economics and Social Services, ACCESS, and other Arab-American organizations, as well as a limited amount of her personal papers. The collection is a record of activism in the neighborhood of Southeast Dearborn and the Arab-American community. Researchers interested in immigrant communities, Arab-Americans and urban neighborhood renewal should find material of interest.