At the East Side Freedom Library we are dedicated to the idea that deepening our knowledge can help us, all of us, have a greater impact on the challenges that our society faces. A lot of our work brings an historical perspective to contemporary issues, to promote a conversation between the past and the present that can help us chart a path to a better future. One such issue is immigration.
In collaboration with the Adult and Community Education Program of the St. Paul Public Schools, ESFL will offer a six week course on “Immigration and the Making of St. Paul,” on Wednesday evenings, beginning October 2. We will begin in the 1840s and conclude with the present, paying particular attention not only to the challenges that immigrants have faced – racism, nativism, economic exploitation – but also to the ways that they have organized to care for each other and develop a voice in society – churches, mutual benefit societies, unions, political organizations.
There is significant knowledge at the ESFL to be accessed, in our books, visual art, musical recordings, and the like. Our collections include a great range of books in immigration history, exploring the experiences of different communities, their reception in different parts of the country, the ways their cultures and identities changed over time, and the ways that they, in turn, engaged newer immigrants. The framework of our course will rely on such great contributions as Mae Ngai’s IMPOSSIBLE SUBJECTS: ILLEGAL ALIENS AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA [insert image]. Our shelves also hold well-written studies of St. Paul experiences, such as Mary Wingerd’s CLAIMING THE CITY: POLITICS, FAITH, AND THE POWER OF PLACE IN ST. PAUL [insert image] and Dionicio Valdes’ BARRIOS NORTENOS: ST. PAUL AND MIDWESTERN MEXICAN COMMUNITIES IN THE 20TH CENTURY [insert image], which will inform our work.
While we will use materials from these and other books, our course will also draw upon the knowledge that participants already have – stories from their families and communities, both from personal experience and from oral accounts passed down across generations. Our class will provide a space within which participants can share stories, puzzle out their own experiences, listen to each other, and, in interaction with readings, films, guest speakers, and each other, create a story that they will feel confident in sharing with their families and their communities.
We hope you will consider joining us. Please be sure to register!