Dearborn City Council Remembers Arab American News Editor

posted on: Jan 20, 2013

To Council President Pro Temp Suzanne Sareini, Marianna Kay Siblani was “a very powerful voice for the Arab American community across the country.”

Siblani, the executive editor of the Arab American News, died Jan. 2 after battling Stage 4 breast cancer at her home in Warren. She was 64.

The longtime advocate for local, national and international causes affecting Arab Americans in Michigan and abroad was honored at Tuesday night’s Dearborn City Council meeting.

“Kay was a single mom with roots from Kentucky,” Sareini shared of Siblani. “She became involved in the Arab American News in 1985.”

According to the Detroit News, Siblani also co-founded the Muslim Observer newspaper, and helped create the Michigan office for the Council for American-Islamic Relations.

Arab American news publisher Osama Siblani—Kay Siblani’s ex-husband—spoke of her to the Detroit News as a “silent warrior” for the cause.

“Kay stood by the newspaper and braved financial hardship, along with long working hours,” Siblani told the News. “She worked hard with a steadfast and complete dedication to the Arab cause even though she didn’t have a drop of Arab blood in her veins.”

Sareini added Tuesday that Kay Siblani “worked long, tireless hours for the publication.”

“She never wavered, she never quit,” Sareini added. “She was always there for her family and friends, and she was always committed to what she was doing.”

A funeral service for Siblani was held Monday in Warren.

Siblani is survived by her mother, Anna Leota Kendall, a daughter, Michelle, two brothers Kenny and Keith, a sister, Cathy, and three grandchildren.

Jessica Carreras
Dearborn Patch