Boyah J. Farah

Somalian-American Boyah J. Farah survived significant hardship in his birth country only to experience firsthand the dehumanization of Blacks when he arrived in his adopted land, the United States. His searing memoir of American racism— "America Made Me A Black Man" (Harper; September 6, 2022)— offers a singular, eye-opening perspective at a time of profound racial reckoning.

Born in Somalia and raised among nomads, Farah grew up with a code of male bravado that helped him survive deprivation, disease, and civil war; he believed that code would help him succeed in his new country. Rather than safety and freedom, though, Farah found systemic racism, police brutality, and intense prejudice in all areas of life, including the workplace. He learned not only what it meant to be an African in America, but what it means to be African American. The code of masculinity that shaped generations of men in his family could not prepare Farah for the painful realities of life in the United States.

Farah’s writing has been featured in The Guardian, Harvard Transition, Scheer Intelligence at KCRW, Grub Daily and Truthdig. His essays have appeared in Harvard’s Kennedy School Review, Pangyrus magazine, and The Huffington Post, and he is the winner of Salon‘s best essay of 2017. He recently founded the Abaadi School in Garowe, Somalia, which offers instruction in English, Math and Science to boys and girls ages 13-24. Farah divides his time between Boston and Somalia. "America Made Me A Black Man" is his first book.