My name is Adnan Charara… I was born on June 16, 1962, in Bint Jbeil in Lebanon. When I think about my ancestry, I think about my parents living between two worlds, the Middle East and West Africa. My family, they passed down to me to understand, believe and respect others, by respecting yourself. Being an Arab American and in Detroit and with a large community in today's political atmosphere, gave me a very good sense that I need to represent where they come from. It’s very important to make people see the true side of what an Arab American is or are. So that... inspires me to think, how can I speak in my art? A language what could be very inviting to the outsider, to see the humanity within me and my culture or any other culture, because this fear and misunderstanding of cultures or people is really creating a very dark side in human. So that gave me strength and also gave me a feeling that... I started to see what Detroit is all about. And I felt this is the place I needed to be. And I started to see the rich history of Detroit and the beauty. So I thought, this is a place I can harvest from – I can give – I can take and I would be understood, as I understand them. And that makes me a Detroiter. We are all human, we all have the same tears. We all have the same joy.