Outcasts United Themes
by Warren St. John

One of the central themes in the book is immigration and its challenges. Clarkston, Georgia becomes home to refugees fleeing from different countries such as Sudan and Liberia because of war. This book reveals the hardships that immigrants face and the trauma that they experience after coming face-to-face with the darkest aspects of humanity. The book highlights the difficulties that they experience as they try to understand and adapt to American culture. The locals fear the refugees and the city council does not want anything to do with them. They do not speak English, which creates a communication barrier between them and the locals. Many of the refugee families are single-parent households, as the spouses have either been killed or imprisoned back home. They work for low wages and face financial hardships.

Another theme you could discuss is the positive impact of sports in the community. In the book, the Fugees is a soccer team that was founded to unify the children of Clarkston who came from different cultural backgrounds. Through sports, racial, political, and religious differences are put aside for the purpose of unity and achieving a common goal.