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The Future in the Present

Aug 2, 2022 | Blog

Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Kin, The West Indian scholar-activist C.L.R. James said his (and our) task is to find the future in the present. Where do we see the relationships, values, and behaviors in our everyday lives that could be the building blocks of the society...

Native Son, Revistied

Jul 28, 2022 | Blog, Book Geek Shelf Talkers

  By Naci Konar-Steenberg I love reading books that were written a long time ago. Books like The Great Gatsby, 1984 and Flatland, even though their subject matters are all over the place, grab my interest for the same reason: they possess a character far enough...

The Global in the Local/The Local in the Global

Jul 18, 2022 | Blog

Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Kin, On June 17, Peter had the honor of presenting the story of the East Side Freedom Library, via Zoom, to an international conference in Great Britain, sponsored by the UNESCO Associated Schools Programme Network. Entitled “The Arts...

The Art of Losing

Jul 12, 2022 | Blog

 By Taous Claire Khazem Alice Zeniter’s novel The Art of Losing tells the story of Naïma, a gallery curator who returns to her father’s native Algeria that he left as a child at the end of the Algerian War for independence in 1962. Naïma insists on making this journey...

Housing Justice Work at the East Side Freedom Library

Jul 5, 2022 | Blog

Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Kin, The East Side Freedom Library is more than a library where knowledge can be accessed (although we are very proud of our collections of books and other resources—search our catalog here), and we are more than an arts—producing...