Sisters, Brothers, and Kin,
As we write this blog, we share a sense of crisis, from continued uncertainty about the pandemic and its future course, to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the strike by Minneapolis teachers and educational support staff. We also stand with our neighbors whose attention remains focused on their loved ones in crisis in Myanmar and Ethiopia. Amidst these crises, the East Side Freedom Library seeks to inspire solidarity, work for justice, and advocate for equity for all.
KSTP News recently featured our work supporting typewriters as a means to communicate solidarity with Ukrainians. We seek to encourage our neighbors to share their stories with each other, to listen to each other, and to produce knowledge together. We anticipate several events in the coming weeks which will enable us, together, to move forward.
In 1989, as autoworkers in the U.S. and Canada were becoming aware of their employers’ strategies to move production to low-wage countries, they were electrified by news that their counterparts in Mexico City’s Ford plant had undertaken a sitdown strike to demand higher wages, safer working conditions, and a greater voice in their daily work lives. When this strike was violently repressed a process of sharing stories and envisioning cross-border solidarity began to take shape. We are excited to welcome an old friend, Rob McKenzie, former president of United Auto Workers Local 879 at St. Paul’s Ford plant, and his new book, El Golpe: US Labor, the CIA, and the Coup at Ford on Sunday afternoon, March 27. Rob will be engaged by a panel of reader/discussants, as we seek to draw out the lessons of these experiences.
In preparation for this conversation, we encourage you to watch this 19 minute video, “$4 a Day? No Way! Hands Across the Border,” made by another old friend, Matt Witt, former editor of the United Mine Workers Union Journal. We also invite you to read a review of El Golpe, written by veteran transnational labor solidarity activist and friend of ESFL, Kim Scipes. Rob’s book will be available directly from his publisher and from our friends at Subtext Books. Join us for what will surely be a dynamic conversation between the past and the present.
In 1996, James Loewen precipitated heated debates about the dominant narratives of American history which shaped young people’s education across the country when he published Lies My Teacher Told Me. These debates have persisted to this very day, from the Minnesota state legislature where new social studies standards are being debated, to national historians’ conventions where Nikole Hannah-Jones’ The 1619 Project has been the topic of arguments, from formal panels to the internet. Chad Montrie, a History Professor at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, was inspired by Loewen’s work, particularly his final book, Sundown Towns, which appeared in 2006.
Chad was drawn to Minnesota, where Loewen had identified two cities—Edina and Austin—which seemed quite unlike each other, yet fit his definition of “sundown towns.” Chad’s curiosity led him to dig deeply into Minnesota’s complex racial history, and, now, Minnesota Historical Society Press, is publishing his book, Whiteness in Plain View. The ESFL team is excited that Chad wants us to host the very first public event about this book. We hope you will join us, Chad, and a panel of local scholar-activists on April 6.
So, please join us to share your stories and learn new ones from your neighbors, to produce knowledge, and, above all, to inspire solidarity. We need each other more than ever.
Love and Solidarity,
Beth Cleary and Peter Rachleff