East Side Freedom Library

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East Side Freedom Library The East Side Freedom Library preserves and promotes knowledge about Saint Paul's East Side, including labor, immigration and more.

What keeps a community like ESFL going? 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬— 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘵. November 19 is 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼...
10/22/2026

What keeps a community like ESFL going? 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬— 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘵.

November 19 is 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘅 𝗗𝗮𝘆, Minnesota’s annual giving day for nonprofits and schools. It’s an opportunity to support the places and causes you care about, wherever you are.

That evening, we’re also gathering at ESFL for Third Thursdays for Housing Justice with civil rights litigator Sarah Carthen Watson. We’ll talk about housing justice, the work happening in our communities, and why supporting that work matters.

You’re welcome to join us whether or not you make a donation.

🗓️ Thursday, November 19
⏰ Housing Justice Talk: 6:30–8:30 p.m. Central
📍 East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul

Registration is optional. Walk-ins are welcome.

Event details and optional registration:
https://eastsidefreedomlibrary.org/event/third-thursdays-fundraising-talk/

Scroll through the graphics for an introduction to Give to the Max, and save the date for an evening with us.

Two Fringe shows are coming back— and this time, a weekend of theater supports ESFL.Join us November 6–8 for a Minnesota...
10/19/2026

Two Fringe shows are coming back— and this time, a weekend of theater supports ESFL.

Join us November 6–8 for a Minnesota Fringe Remount featuring Witness Loudly and Minnesota is the Shire, or Fair & Back Again. All proceeds benefit the East Side Freedom Library.

Choose a night:

Friday, November 6
Witness Loudly · 7 PM
Minnesota is the Shire · 8:30 PM

Saturday & Sunday, November 7–8
Witness Loudly · 5:30 PM
Minnesota is the Shire · 7 PM

All times Central.
📍 East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul

Ticket options:
$25 suggested standard donation
$50 covers yourself and another person
$0 access option

Come enjoy a night of theater and support the library. Reserve your tickets: https://eastsidefreedomlibrary.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents%2F61876

Howard Zinn brought the struggles of everyday people into the telling of American history. What shaped the historian beh...
10/19/2026

Howard Zinn brought the struggles of everyday people into the telling of American history. What shaped the historian behind that work?

Join us at ESFL for a book launch with Dave Zirin, author of The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn. This biography explores Zinn’s life, his work, and his involvement in social movements—a chance to consider the connections between studying history and taking part in it.

Saturday, October 24, 2026 · 2–4 PM Central
East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul

Bring a friend who loves history. Reserve your tickets: https://eastsidefreedomlibrary.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents%2F57841%2Fstorefront%2F254522

Working on a National History Day project? You don’t need a finished draft to come talk with us.ESFL’s History Day Help ...
10/16/2026

Working on a National History Day project? You don’t need a finished draft to come talk with us.

ESFL’s History Day Help Sessions connect students with mentors who can help explore research questions, find sources, and develop a thesis and argument. Our collections offer histories of workers, immigration, civil rights, and communities whose stories deserve to be heard.

Students, parents, and educators: keep us in mind as projects take shape. We’re here to help students build on their own ideas.

🗓️ Saturdays, November 14, 2026–April 24, 2027
⏰ 10 AM–12 PM Central
📍 East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul

Students are encouraged to email Peter Rachleff at [email protected] to discuss their project and arrange an initial appointment.

Learn more:
https://eastsidefreedomlibrary.org/event/history-help-day-sessions/2026-11-14/

What stories might take shape when we make space to imagine together?Join award-winning Hmong American author Kao Kalia ...
10/14/2026

What stories might take shape when we make space to imagine together?

Join award-winning Hmong American author Kao Kalia Yang for a Half-Day Fiction Writing Workshop at East Side Freedom Library. Explore fiction, imagination, community, and our world, with time to consider the stories you want to tell.

🗓️ Wednesday, October 21, 2026
⏰ 9 AM–1 PM Central
📍 East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul, MN 55106
Free and open to the first ten applicants · Lunch provided

To apply, email a one-page statement about yourself and your goals for the workshop to: [email protected]

ESFL is hosting and co-sponsoring this workshop. Support provided by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council through the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment.

This Thursday! Roast Your Landlord is just 3 days away.Bring your housing horror stories, vent your frustrations, and me...
10/12/2026

This Thursday! Roast Your Landlord is just 3 days away.

Bring your housing horror stories, vent your frustrations, and meet tenant organizers from across the Twin Cities. Come connect with neighbors and let’s talk housing justice. ✊🏽

🗓️ Thursday, October 15 | 6:30–8:30 PM
📍 East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul

Food starts at 6 PM. Costumes are encouraged!

Bring a friend—walk-ins welcome! Registration is optional. Visit our event page and click the registration button:
https://eastsidefreedomlibrary.app.neoncrm.com/event-detail?event=347&

Our Community Media Summit starts in 3 days!Come connect with fellow media makers, share ideas, and learn together about...
10/12/2026

Our Community Media Summit starts in 3 days!

Come connect with fellow media makers, share ideas, and learn together about telling our communities’ stories.

🗓️ October 15–17, 2026
Daily start times:
▪️ Thursday, October 15 · 6 PM
▪️ Friday, October 16 · 9:30 AM
▪️ Saturday, October 17 · 9:30 AM

📍 East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul
Free to attend · Early registration encouraged

Join us! Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2000654571680?aff=oddtdtcreator

Watch , then join a conversation with the director and subjects from the film.The screening and Q&A are part of our Com...
10/09/2026

Watch , then join a conversation with the director and subjects from the film.

The screening and Q&A are part of our Community Media Summit—a gathering for Minnesota media makers, organizers, journalists, filmmakers, and people building local media.

Come hear from the people behind the film and connect with others working to tell our communities’ stories. Across the Summit, we’ll share ideas, learn together, and explore how to strengthen community media.

🗓️ Community Media Summit: October 15–17, 2026
📍 East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul
Free to attend · Early registration encouraged

Bring your questions and join us. Early registration is encouraged:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2000654571680?aff=oddtdtcreator

When an encampment closes, what happens to the people who called it home?In “Where Are They Supposed to Go? Disinvestmen...
10/06/2026

When an encampment closes, what happens to the people who called it home?

In “Where Are They Supposed to Go? Disinvestment, Displacement, and the East Side,” our Housing Justice Organizer DaKota Morgan connects the Pig’s Eye closure to a longer history of lost jobs, unstable housing, and uneven investment in our neighborhoods.

Emergency shelter matters. So does asking whether people can access it and whether it meets their needs. Supporting our unhoused neighbors means listening to those needs and investing in places where people can stay, belong, and build their lives.

Read through the slides for excerpts, then read DaKota’s full piece on our website: https://buff.ly/wwUZZmQ

What could we build if we imagined better housing futures together?Join us for Imagination Starts At Home, a two-day Hou...
10/05/2026

What could we build if we imagined better housing futures together?

Join us for Imagination Starts At Home, a two-day Housing Summit at East Side Freedom Library, November 20–21, 2026.

On Friday, we’ll gather over dinner and a performance by zAmya Theater Project to rethink how we regard social and public housing. On Saturday, we’ll share lunch and join breakout discussions to imagine better futures for our neighborhoods.

We’re coming together with Southeast Community Organization, zAmya Theater Project, Indigenous Roots, Payne-Phalen Community Council, Dayton’s Bluff Community Council, Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services, and ABC Realty.

🗓️Day 1: Friday, November 20 | 6–9 PM
🗓️Day 2: Saturday, November 21 | 12–5 PM
📍 East Side Freedom Library
1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul

Bring your questions, your ideas, and a neighbor. Registration is free for both days— register here! https://buff.ly/InyysCU

Address

1105 Greenbrier Street
Saint Paul, MN
55106

Telephone

(651) 207-4926

Website

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