East Side Freedom Library

HISTORY DAY MENTORING! - Every Saturday morning from 10am-12pm
2026-02-28 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-03-07 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-03-14 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-03-21 10:00 - 12:00, 2026-03-28 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul, MN, 55106
National History Day Mentoring Returns to ESFL!
We’re excited to launch this year’s ESFL National History Day Mentoring Project!

Our first session was Saturday, December 6, and will continue every Saturday morning from 10AM–12PM throughout the season through April 2026.

This year’s National History Day theme is: REVOLUTION, REACTION, AND REFORM IN HISTORY
As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, students are invited to explore how revolutions spark reactions, how reactions inspire reforms, and how each moment sets off the next, just like a line of falling dominoes.
Are you or your students passionate about racial justice, labor activism, women’s rights, immigrant history, GLBTQ+ movements, environmental activism, or other powerful stories of change?
Do they want to create performances, documentaries, exhibits, websites, or research papers?
Send them to the East Side Freedom Library!
Here they’ll find:

Rich research resources (books, art, music, archival material)
Connections for oral histories
Experienced mentors who have supported local students for over 10 years
And our results? Last year, three ESFL-mentored students won first or second place at Nationals!
STARTING THIS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6 – THEN EVERY SATURDAY MORNING, 10AM–NOON
East Side Freedom Library

Students are encouraged to make an appointment by emailing Peter Rachleff (American History professor at Macalester College for 30 years and coordinator of the ESFL mentor team): peter@eastsidefreedomlibrary.org
After their first session, students are welcome to return anytime to use ESFL resources. Menors will be available for in-person or remote one-on-one support.

WRITERS' WORSHOP with acclaimed writers DINAW MENGESTU and BURHAN SӦNMEZ
2026-02-28 10:00 - 13:00
Saturday, February 28th from 10-1pm
at the East Side Freedom Library
join Burhan Sönmez and Dinaw Mengestu for an intimate writers’ workshop on using craft to process moments of crisis. Drawing on their experiences writing through political upheaval, exile, and uncertainty, Burhan and Dinaw will guide participants through conversation and exercises focused on transforming fear, disruption, and grief into language that clarifies and endures.
Limited spots available. Email info@eastsidefreedomlibrary.org to register.

WRITER BIOS
DINAW MENGESTU, is the President of PEN America. Mengestu directs both the Center for Ethics and Writing and the Written Arts Program at Bard College. A PEN America trustee since 2016, he has won the prestigious 2012 MacArthur Genius Grant and the National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Award. He has reported on conflicts in Darfur, Uganda, and eastern Congo in articles for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s, Granta, and Rolling Stone.
Mengestu’s first three novels – The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears (2007), How to Read the Air (2010), All Our Names (2014), all New York Times Notable Books – explore the psychic toll and complexities of immigration from his native Ethiopia to the United States. His most recent novel, Someone Like Us (2024), shifts to the U.S.-born second generation, examining how displacement shapes their identity and a sense of belonging; it was named one of former President Obama’s ten best books of 2024.

BURHAN SӦNMEZ, a Kurdish novelist from Türkiye, is the President of PEN International. His novels have been translated into more than forty languages and received international prizes, including the EBRD Literature Prize, the Orhan Kemal Novel Award and Vaclav Havel Library Award. He translated the poetry book of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake into Turkish.
He received a Law degree from the University of Istanbul and worked as a lawyer before moving to Britain due to political reasons. Sonmez is a Senior Member of Hughes Hall and Trinity College, University of Cambridge. From Middle East Technical University in Ankara to The Università della Svizzera italiana in Lugano he has given lectures on literature and freedom of expression in various universities.

Food for Thought: Cultivating Community through Culinary Curiosity
2026-03-04 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-03-11 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-03-18 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-03-25 18:00 - 20:00
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Over four weeks, this course invites participants to explore food as history, memory, and connection. Through shared stories and discussion, participants examine meaningful foods from their personal and family traditions and craft short personal narratives. We will begin every session sharing a meal from a local chef, as a way to launch us into our food memories. Come have fun eating and writing in community!
WHEN: Four Wednesday evenings – March 4, 11, 18 & 25 from 6:00-8:00pm.
WHERE: East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier Street, St Paul.
HOW: Email info@eastsidefreedomlibrary.org to register. Course is free and open to all, but must commit to attending the 4 sessions.
Artist Facilitator: Ánh-Hoa Thị Nguyễn, (MFA) is a refugee, poet, community artist, curator, educator and food scholar/writer. Her most recent publication is a food essay titled “Buy 10 Get 1 Free! Open Letter to Bánh Mì Wanna Be’s” in What We Hunger For: Refugee and Immigrant Stories about Food and Family” edited by Sun Yung Shin 신 선 영.

FILM SCREENING: The Brother from Another Planet
2026-03-06 19:00 - 21:00
FILM SCREENING: The Brother from Another Planet
This film will be screened as part of our series We Belong: Immigration in Film.
March 6th, 7:00pm
East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier Street, St Paul
This is a free community screening. Attendees are encouraged to donate to East Side Rent Assistance here.
“Immigration? Gimme a break. We had a kid overdoes downstairs last night and you’re pestering people about some piece of paper that says they’re legal? You wanna know my opinion? My opinion is you people just made up the immigration scam just to keep people under your thumb.”
–The Brother from Another Planet
Join us at the East Side Eagle’s Club for a free community screening of this warm and heartfelt social satire from master filmmaker John Sales. We’ll have free popcorn, with drinks and pizza available for purchase at the bar. Take a couple hours to relax and recharge in community as we continue to fight for our neighbors.
Synopsis
The Brother (Joe Morton) is an alien and escaped slave on the run from his home planet. After he lands in New York City, he tries to adapt to life on the streets of Harlem. Although the Brother is mute, he does have great abilities at fixing machines, and he gets a job. As the Brother tries to blend in with his new culture, he finds an apartment and gradually makes friends. Meanwhile, he is pursued by two agents from his home world who are intent on returning there with him.
This film is Rated R. Parents or guardians are encouraged to consult the IMDB Parents Guide.
This film will be screened in English with English subtitles.
Trailer

FILM SCREENING: A BUG'S LIFE, as part of the Reel Stories: Labor in Film Series
2026-03-19 18:00 - 21:00
This film will be screened for free as part of our Reel Stories: Labor in Film series, presented in collaboration with East Side Freedom Library and the ESFL Labor Advisory Committee.

March 19th, 6:00pmEast Side Freedom Library1105 Greenbrier Street, St Paul

“Critics who write off A Bug’s Life focus on the surface-level plot about Flik’s individual perseverance … But under this palatable veneer is a story about workers’ rights,”
-Rebecca Long, Observer

Synopsis
Flik is an inventive ant who’s always messing things up for his colony. His latest mishap was destroying the food stores that were supposed to be used to pay off grasshopper Hopper. Now the strong-arming insect is demanding that the ants gather double the food or face annihilation. To avert disaster, Flik goes on a journey to recruit fighters to defend the colony. When he meets a band of high-flying circus insects, he thinks he’s found his salvation.

This film is rated G. Parents or guardians are encouraged to consult Common Sense Media.
This film will be screened in English with English subtitles.

Reel Stories: Labor in Film
This winter, Reel Stories: Labor in Film brings three landmark films to the East Side Freedom
Library, each illuminating the struggles, victories, and everyday courage of working people.
From the coal fields of West Virginia in Matewan (January 15), to the groundbreaking, worker-
led Salt of the Earth (February 19), to a family-friendly look at collective resistance in A Bug’s
Life (March 19), this series pairs each screening with speakers, panels, and community
conversation. Join us as we explore the history and future of the labor movement—and the
power of solidarity on screen and in our neighborhoods.
