By Lisa Albrecht June 2022 In the U.S., “we” (the government/people in power/elected officials…many of whom often buy their victories) pick certain months of the year to “celebrate” the peoples
By Ben Werner Saint Paul’s renter population makes up half of all residents, and a majority of households of color are renters. Yet, renters are at a disadvantage when it
By Maxwell Yang During the winter of 2022, I had the opportunity to work with the East Side Freedom Library as a means of giving back to my community. The
Written by Sophie Auerbach We are living in an historical moment when representations – statues, public murals, monuments, and more – have become contested objects. Too often, the meaning in
By Mary Turck In We Are Meant to Rise, Minnesota indigenous writers and writers of color reflect on and react to the year 2020: the year that began the COVID pandemic,
Dear Sisters, Brothers, and Kin, We are writing to share with you the exciting news that we, as co-founders, will be turning the reins of the East Side Freedom Library
Written by Sophie Auerbach This is a time characterized by intense division, but also remarkable connection. I moved to Saint Paul in the Fall of 2020 to attend Macalester College.
By Chris Sanders East Side Freedom Library (ESFL) first opened their doors to Saint Paul’s East Side community in the summer of 2014. Before a single book was on the
By Romare Onishi Just in its name, the Cleveland Indians don’t sound like a team that helped pave the way to racially integrated baseball. However, in the book Our Team, Luke
By Michaela Corniea Let me tell you a story about the book collection of Toni Randolph. Step into the old Carnegie library on Greenbrier Street, now home of the East