Brothers, Sisters, and Kin,
Welcome to October. It’s hard to believe that we have been mired in this pandemic for six months now! We have all made adjustments in our personal lives, our work lives, and in the intersections of our lives. And while we are challenged in adjusting and we all carry grief with us, we are also discovering new resources which we will carry with us into the next stages of our lives and work. The work of the East Side Freedom Library can be better because of what the pandemic has pushed us to do.
At ESFL we have learned that online programming allows us to enter into conversations with interesting people who do not live here. In the first half of October, we will host conversations between members of our local communities and labor journalist Steven Greenhouse, around his new book and former managing editor of The Nation, JoAnn Wypijewski, around her new book. These conversations will be open not only to invited panelists but also to audience members. You can participate.
Necessity has pushed us to another invention—the use of our beautiful front lawn (which is well cared for by lifelong East Sider, Mallard Teal). Back in June, ESFL’s neighbor, choreographer/dancer Atlese Robinson asked us to host a youth-focused book, toys, and clothing drive, called Emancipated Minds, and in August, another young East Sider, activist/filmmaker Geordie Flantz, asked us to host an outdoor screening of the film Ohiyesa, about the Dakota scholar Charles Eastman. Both events were great successes, and they taught us some of the creative ways we can use our lawn. On October 1, 2, and 3, we will host several artists showing their work as part of the Solidarity Street Gallery. We hope you will join us— masked and at appropriate social distances, of course, but in the same physical space!
The pandemic has also challenged us to create new ways for you, our relatives, to remain in contact with us and with each other. With the leadership of Clarence White, we have expanded the role of the blogsite on our webpage. We see it as a vehicle to provide community members with outlets for your ideas, and to provide space to be in conversation with the voices who are speaking with and through the Freedom Library. We are offering two formats: a Book Geek Shelf Talker Blog and a Research, Experiences + Review Blog. We have already received numerous great submissions, many of which we have posted. Have a look! And send us yours!
Another way you can stay in touch with us is by joining ESFL’s Solidarity League. This is a community of people who express their commitment to justice and equity by making a recurring donation to ESFL. There are now 68 members in the Solidarity League, and their monthly investment provides the steady funding that makes it possible for us to maintain our building and collections and to make programs available at no charge to participants.
Giving monthly allows us to spend less time fundraising, and more time working for justice. Please consider deepening your connection to ESFL by joining the Solidarity League.
The ESFL team wants to be good neighbors. Atlese Robinson, who is not only a neighbor but also a collaborator with us, has asked for help in finding and returning her beloved dog, Knuckles. Please keep an eye out for him and call Atlese if you see him.
We are all connected. Let us grow together through this challenging period in our history.
Love and Solidarity,
Peter and Beth