“This is my love letter to America.  It is not simple.  It is complex and contradictory, just as the dream conflicts with the often-grim reality.  Still, the dream persists–just as love continues despite every obstacle and betrayal…” 

In honor of Black History Month, hear from Boyah J. Farah author of America Made Me A Black Man! 

In this honest and interactive talk, Somalian born, Boyah, Farah, author of ‘America Made Me A Black Man’ will share what it means to be an African in America, what American blackness has meant to him, from his childhood in Somalia to his adolescence and early adulthood in the Northeast to the moment as an adult he decided to return to Somalia after decades spent away. 

When Boyah Farah arrived in the United States as a teenager, he expected the country to be paradise. And for a while it was – when he rode his bike down the quiet streets of his Boston-suburb, past smiling neighbors with their perfectly manicured lawns. "I really thought that God favored America."

But try as he might to hold on to that image, the reality of American racism eventually began to surface cracks in Farah's fantasy. Slowly but surely, he began to understand that as a Black American, his life wouldn't play out like the Hollywood movies he had grown up with. He would be forced into a different sort of role – Leah Donella (NPR). 

This is a story of how one man’s will for change triumphed over adversity, a story which saw him go full circle, travel back to pay homage to his homeland and give back, it is a book of hope and his eventual love of his adopted home. 

This special event is not to be missed. A chance for audience questions and reflections at the end will be encouraged, a book signing will follow the presentation and lunch will be provided.