On February 21, 2025, the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn, Michigan kicked off its 20th anniversary with an intimate meet and greet honoring Palestinian American actor and comedian, Mo Amer.
Mo wanted to pay AANM this special visit before his comedy show at the Filmore in Detroit. The actor has been making his way around the US for his comedy tour, “El Oso Palestino,” which runs until May 2025. He has two comedy specials and stars in the award-winning show he co-created, “Mo,” available for viewing on Netflix.
The Museum’s exclusive gathering featured community members, ACCESS staff, media and other supporters who joined to celebrate Mo’s success in sharing stories that especially resonate with Arab American communities but also many others who understand the significance of home, heritage, faith, love and family.
“It’s wonderful to come to a place and feel so understood, right?” Mo said as he entered the mosaiced community courtyard and joined his guests, who greeted him with smiles and a spread of spinach pies, cheese rolls, grape leaves, kibbeh and a delectable knafeh dessert.
This welcome was especially fitting, given the theme for the Museum’s anniversary this year is “al-bayt baytak,” Arabic for “this home is your home.” And much like a homecoming, the meet and greet was informal yet personal. Mo embraced guests, laughed with them and enjoyed the delicious fare.
After several minutes, AANM Director, Diana Abouali, took the podium and delivered a warm introduction full of gratitude.
“I want to thank you, Mo, for the work you’ve done involving Arab and Palestinian representation on TV and in the media,” Diana said, “and not just representation but representation in all its fullness. These characters have complexity; they’re relatable. You tell their stories that are tragic, hard and difficult, but also, you talk about joy.”
Diana touched on this complexity in Season 2 of Mo, which centers around Mo, wary from a trip to Mexico that goes horribly wrong and the legal weight that comes with being a stateless refugee living in Houston. While we’re confronted with real hardship, it’s not hard to find moments of light. In “Field of Dreams,” Mo reunites with his estranged partner, Maria, and enjoys a Thanksgiving meal with her, his family, friends and former boss, Buddy, on Buddy’s farm.
In the season finale, Mo journeys to Palestine with his mother and brother where he has another meal, this time with his Palestinian relatives. While we’re hit with the reality of economic immobility that comes with occupied land, we’re also immersed in the memories of Mo’s father, rich faith and culture of Palestine, and olive trees and surrounding natural beauty of Mo’s homeland.
“There’s always a search for home. As Palestinians, it’s a little elusive to us, but it’s there. We’re struggling for it, and we’ll one day liberate Palestine and go home…” Diana said. “So, Mo, we want to say to you, ‘welcome home.’ You’ll always have a home here—in Dearborn, Michigan and at the Arab American National Museum.”
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud also shared a few words of appreciation for Mo with everyone. Mo’s representation has had a profound effect on him as a public servant and father of two Muslim Arab girls.
“What you’ve been able to do on an international level is provide opportunity to everyone in this room and generations to come,” Mayor Hammoud said. “The way that you shattered stereotypes has opened doors for us as public servants, as people who want to give back to community in more ways that you can ever understand.”
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib shared a similar sentiment. “I feel so seen and heard. Mohammed, you’ve given us so much pride,” she said. “Even though we’ve been here for generations in the United States, you shone light on our struggle and our pain. And you did it with laughter.”
Mayor Hammoud presented Mo with a plaque, honoring him for his service. He said, “Oftentimes, it does take the comedian, the notable actor, or the individual who is speaking to our narrative…because they grew up in it, stewed in it, and understand it better than anyone,” he said. “So, on behalf of the entire city of Dearborn, I just want to say thank you and welcome home.”
“In your face, everybody,” Mo joked while receiving the plaque, revealing the nerves that often come with such a large acknowledgement.
He continued on a more serious note about his beginnings in comedy. “I had this vision ever since I was a nine-year-old kid when I first saw standup comedy. It really started to evolve for me rapidly once I saw there were no Arab American stories on television, certainly not Palestinian stories on American television, or anywhere outside the Middle East.”
It seemed like fate to Mo when he met his manager, Mustafa Abeulhija, a renowned producer who is especially known for his work with Dave Chapelle. It was Dave Chapelle who introduced the two.
“It’s amazing how the Divine will put you in scenarios where you can collaborate and create something that’s so beautiful and for the world to see,” Mo said.
Mo talked about how it was nearly impossible not to experience all the intense emotions that come with telling Palestinian stories in his show. It’s through complex characters, like his mother and sister, that allowed him to explore the depth of a larger collective human experience.
Some of the most profound lines of “Mo, Season 2” came from Mo’s mother, played by Farah Bsieso. “The world will always try to tear us down,” she said. “And when they do, we smile. Because we know who we are.” This quote is a simple yet powerful sentiment that echoes throughout Mo’s comedy and life’s work.
The way the Arab American community has received Mo’s stories has made any painful storytelling worth it to Mo.
“All you want to do when you do something [create art] like this is feel appreciated. You wanna feel like your community loves it. And today is one of those days. I feel full. I feel so, so full,” he said.