By Minna Zhou, Peter Rachleff, Chris Sanders, Kristyn Seo Taff VIEW PRINTABLE VERSION In light of the ongoing Palestinian genocide, ESFL has compiled a list of books, online readings, and relevant community resources, to help support community learning. Our intention...
By Saengmany Ratsabout Dear Sisters, Brother, and Kin, We would like to share some information concerning new proposed labor legislation in the state legislature. The legislation is HF 1522 and it is authored by Representatives Michael Nelson, Emma Greenman, and...
The Frank Boyd Award to Greg Poferl Born in Kansas in 1881, Frank Boyd moved to Saint Paul in 1904 and went to work as a railroad porter for the Pullman Company, then the largest employer of African American men in the United States. Boyd became one of the...
By Peter Rachleff At the East Side Freedom Library, our mission is “to inspire solidarity, work for justice, and advocate for equity for all.” We understand this not only as a guidepost by which to navigate our organization and its work, but as watchwords by...
By John McKenzie I first heard of Bill Onasch when I was asked to help catalog his books, which had been donated to the East Side Freedom Library after his death in 2021. ESFL has been blessed with donations of books from a number of individuals, many of them...
by Chris Sanders The 1920s and 30s was a period of turmoil and change for many African Americans. Economic exploitation, terror from the KKK, and political disenfranchisement led to a migration of over 6 million Black people from the rural South to the urban North and...
