November 2, 2010 – Hour 2

Every year the Maryland Humanities Council chooses a book for the One Maryland One Book project, which fosters state-wide conversations about literature between neighbors, schoolmates, and friends.   This year’s book is Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman’s Quest to Make a Difference, by Warren St. John. The book takes a look at Clarkston, Georgia, a small, formerly homogeneous town which became a center for refugees moving to the United States. The story revolves around Luma Mufleh, a Jordanian-born woman who was educated at an American college, and who formed a soccer team with some of the children of refugees in Clarkston. The book belies the notion that small acts can’t make a difference, as the town and many of its residents are transformed by the formation of the team.