The Arab American Institute (AAI) was established in 1985 to nurture and encourage the direct participation of Arab Americans in political and civic life in the United States. Since the 1970s, AAI co-founder and President James Zogby has been actively involved in supporting Black-Palestinian solidarity, including editing the 1980 volume Afro-Americans Stand up for Middle East Peace published by the Palestine Human Rights Campaign. Under Zogby's leadership of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) the community played a significant role in the success of the "20th Anniversary of the MLK March on Washington" in 1983. Zogby's leadership role and extensive community involvement in the Jesse Jackson presidential campaigns of '84 and '88 also worked to foster Black-Palestinian solidarity.