Impact of Refugees on Small Town America the Story of "Outcasts United"

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman’s Quest to Make a Difference by New York Times reporter Warren St. John is this year’s University of Arkansas One Book, One Community selection.

The fast-paced narrative tells the true story of refugees from wars in the Middle East, Balkans and Africa who were re-settled in the small, “All American” town of Clarkson, Georgia. The re-settlement was as wrenching for the refugee families as it was for the townspeople. Soccer was a common link for the younger refugees and their coach, a young Jordanian woman, used that link to keep her players in school and out of trouble, despite local opposition. The youth soccer teams she led, known as the Fugees, became a symbol of the turmoil and change for both the refugees and the Clarkson community.

In a video message to the campus interim Chancellor Dan Ferritor has encouraged everyone to read “a book that tells stories and raises issues – issues as relevant for our community as they are for countless places in America.”

Elizabeth Young, associate professor in the School of Law, has scheduled an event to expand on the themes of Outcasts United. She will screen the recent film The Good Lie, starring Reese Witherspoon, about a group of Sudanese refugees resettled in Kansas City and the employment agency counselor who changes their lives. The film will be shown at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22 in the E.J. Ball Courtroom, room 240. Young will lead a discussion after the film.

Outcasts United author Warren St. John will visit the U of A to give a free public lecture and sign books from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, in the Donald W. Reynolds Auditorium. He will also speak to Fayetteville Public Library book club members at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 6.