This event is co-hosted by On Stage: Creating a Community Dialogue Around Live Theater, Community Stabilization Project, Circle of Peace, and East Side Freedom Library.

At Unity Church – Unitarian, 733 Portland Avenue, Saint Paul

*Snacks will be provided at the end.

Join us for a stimulating discussion led by Melvin Whitfield Carter Jr. and local teaching artists Warren Bowles (director of the play), Maria Asp and Patrick Bailey. Participants will read two scenes from the play, Diesel Heart, a play that History Theatre will be producing from March 11 – April 2. The readings will be followed by a discussion of the themes, tying in current events, personal values, and narratives. Participants will also receive a ticket discount to see the play at History Theatre.

Written by Brian Grandison in collaboration with Melvin Carter Jr. Directed by Warren C. Bowles. Melvin Whitfield Carter Jr., the father of St. Paul’s current mayor, is a true son of Rondo, the city’s storied African American neighborhood. He was born in a city divided along racial lines and rich in cultural misunderstanding. Growing up in the 1950s and ’60s, he witnessed the destruction of his neighborhood by the I-94 freeway—and he found his way to fighting and trouble. But Carter turned his life around. As a young man, he enlisted in the US Navy. He used his fighting ability to survive racist treatment, winning boxing matches and respect. And as an affirmative action hire in the St. Paul Police Department, facing prejudice at every turn, this hardworking, talented, and highly principled officer fought to protect the people of the city he calls home. Diesel Heart is the story of a leader who created a powerful family legacy by standing up for what is right, even in the face of adversity.

*On Stage: Creating a Community Dialogue Around Live Theater is a fiscally sponsored program through Springboard for the Arts and is designed to strengthen community support by reaching a wider “non-traditional” theater audience. Discussions touch on important ethical and civic questions, as well as other themes developed in the chosen works. In addition to community events, On Stage holds discussions in a variety of college and high school classes (in-person and online) to get a younger audience to see live theater.

*Community Stabilization Project (CSP)’s mission is to build TENANT STABILITY THAT WILL LEAD TO COMMUNITY by: informing, educating, advocating for and organizing tenants to take action to preserve and increase the supply of healthy, safe and affordable housing in the City of Saint Paul.

*The Circle of Peace Movement (TCOPM) grows from an effort by Russel and Sarah Balenger in the Rondo neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota, in February 2010. Working to organize a community response to increasing violence, the Balengers gathered affected families to sit, share a meal, and talk with one another.

*The East Side Freedom Library (ESFL)’s mission is to inspire solidarity, advocate for justice and work toward equity for all. The library houses non-circulating research collections that appeal to interested general learners as well as scholars, with innovative databases and finding aids that make using the collections fun and vital.