The East Side Freedom Library and the St. Paul Recovery Act Reading group invite you to discuss: The Role of Education in the Quest for Reparations.

Register here to join this event on Zoom.

Beginning in early 2020, ESFL and the St. Paul Recovery Act Reading group have convened a monthly discussion — based on shared reading — of topics relevant to the topic of reparations. We have explored the history of slavery, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, convict labor, migration north, restrictive covenants and red-lining, civil rights legislation, and more. Last month’s discussion identified education as a central theme for our concerns with reparations. That is, how might the discussion of reparations impact what young people are learning in local schools?

We would like to explore two “hot” topics in this area: the New York Times’ “1619 Project,” and “Critical Race Theory.” We have selected some readings which will prepare us for an informed conversation about these subjects, leading also, we hope, to a conversation about what we would like to see in local school curricula. Please join us!

Here are some resources:

The 1619 Project

• https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html
• Discussion among historians: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/historians-clash-1619-project/604093/

Critical Race Theory

• https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/01/us/critical-race-theory-explainer-trnd/index.html
• https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/14/us/critical-race-theory-what-is-it/index.html
• http://bostonreview.net/race-politics/david-theo-goldberg-war-critical-race-theory
• https://theintercept.com/2020/06/27/robin-dg-kelley-intercepted/

We strongly encourage you to engage these readings in preparation for participating in our conversation.

Free and open to all

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