The politicization of anti-immigrant fears is nothing new, nor are grassroots efforts to resist such campaigns.  Join East Side Freedom Library co-executive director Peter Rachleff as he discusses the ways that business and political leaders promoted nativism in WWI era Minnesota as a means to squelch the labor movement and its farmer allies. Peter’s presentation will […]

Join Peter Rachleff, labor historian and founder of the East Side Freedom Library for a walking tour of historic Payne Avenue! The tour starts at Arlington Hills Community Center and concludes with the Saint Paul Public Library’s Story Fair, which will kick off a season of celebrations honoring those libraries turning 100 this year: Arlington Hills and East Side Freedom […]

Join Peter Rachleff, labor historian and founder of the East Side Freedom Library for a walking tour of historic Payne Avenue! The tour starts at Arlington Hills Community Center and concludes with the Saint Paul Public Library’s Story Fair, which will kick off a season of celebrations honoring those libraries turning 100 this year: Arlington Hills and East Side Freedom […]

Join Peter Rachleff, labor historian and founder of the East Side Freedom Library for a walking tour of historic Payne Avenue! The tour starts at Arlington Hills Community Center and concludes with the Saint Paul Public Library’s Story Fair, which will kick off a season of celebrations honoring those libraries turning 100 this year: Arlington Hills and East Side Freedom […]

The East Side Freedom Library invites you to HOUSING JUSTICE FROM THE TWIN CITIES TO THE WESTERN CAPE: A Panel Discussion Thursday, September 14, 6-8pm​ Join visiting activists from The Housing Assembly, a grassroots organization ​in Capetown, South Africa, to learn more about the intersections between movements for housing rights at home and abroad. Activists […]

The East Side Freedom Library, Pangea World Theatre, and Mizna invite you to History and Theater: How Do We Tell the Stories that have been Silenced? Saturday, September 16, 2017 @ 3:00­­-4:30PM What happened at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon, thirty-five years ago (September 16-18, 1982)? Why don't more of us […]

The East Side Freedom Library invites you to join Dr. Brian V. Xiong (Ed.D., Minnesota State University, Mankato) for a discussion of his dissertation research.   Through our "Neighbors Meet Neighbors" series, ESFL has been exploring diversity within the many communities in our neighborhood, as well as the diversity between them. Brian's work provides a […]

St. Paul grew with this country's railroad system.  What has it been like to work on the railroad?  How has the work changed?  What roles have unions played in creating a safer working environment and a decent living for railroad workers?  Come and find out! George Joyce, who worked 37 and 1/2 years as a […]

EAST SIDE FREEDOM LIBRARY and ST. PAUL PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY EDUCATION invite you to "Walking Tour: Immigration & the (Re)Making of Saint Paul’s East Side." On Saturday, September 30, 10:00am–12:00pm, join Peter Rachleff, Co-Executive Director of the East Side Freedom Library, for a walking tour that explores the present through the lens of the past. […]

Concerned about the anti-union political climate in the U.S. today?   What can we learn from an historical perspective?  The East Side Freedom Library invites you to “Against Labor: A Book Discussion with the Authors of a New Collection” Saturday, September 30 @ 1:00pm–4:00pm   Contributors to the new collection, Against Labor: How U.S. Employers Organized […]

The East Side Freedom Library invites you to "Insurgent Knowledges: Book talk with Damien Sojoyner and Sabina Vaught." On Friday, October 20 @ 7:00PM, Sabina Vaught will discuss the new book, COMPULSORY: EDUCATION AND DISPOSSESSION OF YOUTH IN A PRISON SCHOOL and Damien M. Sojoyner will discuss the new book FIRST STRIKE: EDUCATIONAL ENCLOSURES IN […]

The East Side Freedom Library invites you to join Dr. Brian V. Xiong (Ed.D., Minnesota State University, Mankato) for a discussion of his dissertation research, THE EXPERIENCES OF GAY HMONG MEN: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY. Sunday, October 22nd @ 3pm @ East Side Freedom Library Through our "Neighbors Meet Neighbors" series, ESFL has been exploring diversity […]

The East Side Freedom Library, ISAIAH--Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota's History Department invite you to "The Origins of the Radical Right and the Crisis of Our Democracy." On Thursday, November 2 @ 7:00­­PM, Nancy MacLean, Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University, will discuss "The Origins of the Radical Right and the […]

The East Side Freedom Library invites you to "Noteworthy Dive Bars of Payne and Arcade: A Presentation by Bill Lindeke" on Friday, November 10 @ 7:00PM. Just what is a “dive bar”? It’s hard to say, but you can be sure the East Side has a lot of them. The great dive bar debate has […]