Description:
Join us for an evening that is sure to pull your heart strings with Elly Fishman and journalist Kim Bellware on coming of age in a strange new place
REFUGEE HIGH: COMING OF AGE IN AMERICA weaves together the stories of refugee students at Roger C. Sullivan High School, a school that has historically welcomed immigrant and refugee children from around the world in Chicago. This continues today, with Fishman taking us deep into the lives of these children and their families, as well as the teachers and administrators who see them five days out of the week. Fishman chronicles the 2018-2019 school year for this community, never forgetting the alarming rise in xenophobic and racist rhetoric in the United States as she creates a tapestry that will follow you long after reading the book. Join Elly and Kim as they discuss what it was like, how it was done, and where things stand now for the students of Roger C. Sullivan. This event is free and open to all, accessible through our Facebook and Youtube pages (@busboysandpoets).
Please RSVP if you are interested in purchasing a signed book with shipping
The program itself will begin at 6 PM with an introduction from Busboys and Poets Books Director of Operations, Lori Barrientos Sanchez, before we hear from Elly Fishman and her conversation partner, Kim Bellware. There will be time for Q&A with the audience before the end of the program, as well as the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of REFUGEE HIGH!
REFUGEE HIGH: COMING OF AGE IN AMERICA - For a century, Chicago’s Roger C. Sullivan High School has been a home to immigrant and refugee students. In 2017, during the worst global refugee crisis in history, its immigrant population numbered close to three hundred—or nearly half the school—and many were refugees new to the country. These young people came from thirty-five different countries, speaking among themselves more than thirty-eight different languages.
For these refugee teens, life in Chicago is hardly easy. They have experienced the world at its worst and carry the trauma of the horrific violence they fled. In America, they face poverty, racism, and xenophobia, but they are still teenagers—flirting, dreaming, and working as they navigate their new life in America.
Refugee High is a riveting chronicle of the 2017–8 school year at Sullivan High, a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric was at its height in the White House. Even as we follow teachers and administrators grappling with the everyday challenges facing many urban schools, we witness the complicated circumstances and unique education needs of refugee and immigrant children: Alejandro may be deported just days before he is scheduled to graduate; Shahina narrowly escapes an arranged marriage; and Belenge encounters gang turf wars he doesn’t understand.
Equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring, Refugee High raises vital questions about the priorities and values of a public school and offers an eye-opening and captivating window into the present-day American immigration and education systems.
Elly Fishman's long-form investigative writing often covers the lives of young people navigating urban America. She is a former senior staff editor at Chicago magazine, where her stories won numerous awards, including the Chicago Tribune's Beardstown Award and the prestigious Peter Lisagor Award for best feature reporting. She lives in Chicago, IL.
Kim Bellware is a journalist for a national news network, based out of Chicago, IL.
