We, the undersigned members and friends of the Lebanese American community, respectfully call on the Washington Street Historical Society and the City of New York to correct and clarify the interpretive text associated with the public monument “Al Qalam: Poets in the Park” at Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza in Lower Manhattan.

We celebrate the creation of this monument. It is a beautiful and meaningful tribute to the Arabic-speaking literary community that once flourished around Washington Street, known historically as “Little Syria.” We honor the artist, the organizers, and the public agencies that helped bring this important Arab American monument to life.

But the monument’s interpretation should be historically precise.

The current framing uses the historical label “Syrian” without clearly distinguishing between that period term — often used in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to describe immigrants from the broader Levant — and the present-day birthplaces of the individual writers being honored.

That distinction matters.

Of the nine writers honored by the monument, seven were born in places that are today Lebanon, and two were born in Homs, in what is today Syria.

The writers honored include:

Born in what is today Lebanon:

Kahlil Gibran — Bsharri, Mount Lebanon
Ameen Rihani — Freike, Mount Lebanon
Elia Abu Madi — Al-Muhaydithah, Metn
Mikhail Naimy — Baskinta, Mount Lebanon
Afifa Karam — Amchit
Agabia Malouf / Agabia Nimeh — Shlifa, Beqaa
Abbas Abu Shakra — Ammatour, Chouf

Born in what is today Syria:

Naseeb Arida — Homs
Nadra Haddad — Homs

We are not asking for the monument to be removed, redesigned, or diminished. On the contrary, we want it to be more complete, more accurate, and more respectful to all the communities it represents.

We are asking for a simple historical clarification: the monument’s public-facing text, website, augmented reality content, or a supplementary plaque should explain that “Little Syria” was a historical neighborhood name and that the honored writers came from both present-day Lebanon and present-day Syria, with the majority born in what is today Lebanon.

This correction would not erase history. It would complete it.

The Lebanese contribution to the Mahjar literary movement is one of Lebanon’s great cultural gifts to the world. These writers carried the memory of Bsharri, Freike, Baskinta, Amchit, the Metn, the Beqaa, and the Chouf into American letters and global literature. Their identities and birthplaces deserve to be named accurately.

We respectfully request that the Washington Street Historical Society and the City of New York:

Clarify the use of the term “Syrian” as a historical Levantine label, not a modern national designation for all nine writers.

Add the present-day birthplace/country of each honored writer to the monument’s interpretive material.

Issue a public clarification recognizing that seven of the nine honored writers were born in what is today Lebanon, while Naseeb Arida and Nadra Haddad were born in Homs, today Syria.
Update any website, plaque, augmented reality app, or educational material connected to the monument accordingly.

This is not a demand for division. It is a request for accuracy.

Arab American history deserves precision.

Lebanese American history deserves recognition. And these poets deserve to be named correctly.

History is not corrected by silence.