Learning America

One Woman's Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children

By: Luma Mufleh

Narrated by: Luma Mufleh

“[From] an influential educational leader and activist…an impassioned, penetrating critique and inspiring model for progress.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

It was a wrong turn that changed everything. When Luma Mufleh—a Muslim, gay, refugee woman from hyper-conservative Jordan—stumbled upon a pick-up game of soccer in Clarkston, Georgia, something compelled her to join. The players, 11- and 12-year-olds from Liberia, Afghanistan, and Sudan, soon welcomed her as coach of their ragtag but fiercely competitive group. Drawn into their lives, Mufleh learned that few of her players, all local public school students, could read a single word. She asks, “Where was the America that took me in? That protected me? How can I get these kids to that America?”

Learning America traces the story of how Mufleh grew a group of kids into a soccer team and then into a nationally acclaimed network of schools for refugee children. The journey is inspiring and hard-won: Fugees schools accept only those most in need; no student passes a grade without earning it; the failure of any student is the responsibility of all. Soccer as a part of every school day is a powerful catalyst to heal trauma, create belonging, and accelerate learning. Finally, this gifted storyteller delivers provocative, indelible portraits of student after student making leaps in learning that aren’t supposed to be possible for children born into trauma--stories that shine powerful light on the path to educational justice for all of America’s most left-behind.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

A truly inspirational tale

As the child of immigrant parents whose father had been a refugee himself, I wish that I had had a Fugees Family growing up to help me make feel like a part of US, a country which to this day has never felt like a home to me in spite of being born and living most of my life here. While from the cover, it may appear that this book is primarily about educational justice for refugee children, it is also about so much more. It is about the inequity of privilege, the freedom to express one's true sexual orientation, the weaknesses of the American educational system at large, and the importance of addressing trauma through structure, movement, community, and love. Read by herself, Mufleh sees things with unflinching objectivity and articulates truths which others ignore or accept as reality. The clarity of her vision, her unwavering commitment to help those who are less fortunate and marginalized, and her overwhelming sense of integrity make this book an inspiring and heartwarming read.