The East Side Freedom Library and the St. Paul Public Schools Adult and Community Education Program invite you to participate in this learning opportunity

Wednesdays, 6-8PM, March 4th – April 8th

Explore the role of immigrants in the making and remaking of Saint Paul. We will cover the 1840’s through current times touching first on: Irish and German immigrants and their impact on the foundations of our city; the Scandinavian influx of the 19th century; and, Eastern European immigrants who filled the demand for unskilled labor in meat-packing plants, foundries and railroad work. We will then look at how the city’s workforce, neighborhoods and political and cultural life was shaped by Mexicans, many of whom were already American citizens from Texas, and African Americans who had migrated from the South beginning in the 1850’s. We will also cover the tens of thousands of new immigrants arriving in the early 21st century from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Somalia and Burma, among other places and finish with an overview of public policy and a review of immigration reform through the lens of history to generate a discussion about what the past has to offer anyone who seeks to shape the future. 

Classes will rely on lecture, documents, maps, photographs and even poetry and fiction to explore immigrant experiences and the impact they had.

This course will be taught by ESFL’s co-executive director, Peter Rachleff. Peter Rachleff taught American Labor, Immigration and African American History at Macalester College for over 30 years.

If you want to take this course, you must register for it. SPPS is charging $57 for participation. Please contact them at 651-767-8179, email at [email protected], or enroll online here.

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