East Side Freedom Library

05/28/2026

June is Pride Month — kick it off by learning how to support q***r & trans folks through host homes and community care! 🌈

Join ConneQT & Trans Refuge Host Home Info Sessions

🗓 First Thursday of every month — Next: Thurs, June 4 • 6:30–8:00 PM
📍 East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier, St. Paul

Learn about host homes, accompaniment, and ways to get involved (no pressure or obligation). When systems fail, neighbors step in — help build safety, trust, and belonging. ✨

Questions or to RSVP: [email protected] or 651-207-4926

05/27/2026

SAVE THE DATE: Join us for a powerful afternoon with poet and sound artist chaun webster for a reading of Without Terminus: untraining an archive.

This "beautifully lyrical rumination on unknowing" explores Black rest, memory, and the possibilities of being without. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from the author whose work demands "new grammars, a hauntology, a means of being without".

Event Details:
📅: Saturday, June 27th 2026
⏰: 2:00pm
📍: 1105 Greenbrier St. [East Side Freedom Library]

05/14/2026

XIA Books is excited to be at the East Side Freedom Library for a chat with Scott Kurashige, the author of the new book American Peril, along with Minnesota author Bao Phi and community leader Bo Thao-Urabe.

American Peril is a great look at anti-Asian violence, community activism, and how we can all come together as a multiracial group.You can grab a copy of American Peril at the event and also at XIA Books.

Date: May 17Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: East Side Freedom Library 1105 Greenbrier St, Saint Paul

05/13/2026

What does anti-Asian violence in America have in common with global events that have been erased from the official record?

American Peril by Scott Kurashige is a probing account that shines new light on this history — tracing the rise of Asian American protest and activism and making the case for grassroots multiracial solidarity.

"American Peril will become a mainstay in classrooms and libraries…" — Jeff Yang, author of The Golden Screen

Join us this Sunday, May 17 · 1–3pm at East Side Freedom Library

05/13/2026

"You can kill a revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution." — Fred Hampton

Join us Wednesday, May 21st at 7:00 PM at East Side Freedom Library for a FREE screening of The First Rainbow Coalition — part of our Reel Stories: Housing Justice in Film series in partnership with Trilingua Cinema

In 1969, Fred Hampton and the Chicago Black Panther Party did the unthinkable in one of America's most segregated cities: they built alliances across race and ethnicity, joining forces with the Young Lords Organization and the Young Patriots to confront police brutality and substandard housing together. This is their little-known story, told through rare archival footage and interviews with coalition members.

Stick around after the film for a post-screening discussion with present-day Twin Cities tenant organizers about what lessons this movement holds for our work today.

📍 East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier Street, St Paul
🎬 Free | TV-PG | English with English subtitles

Presented in collaboration with Trilingua Cinema and East Side Housing Justice.

05/12/2026

You won't want to miss this event this Sunday! We will be welcoming Scott Kurashige, author of American Peril, alongside local luminaries Bao Phi and Bo Thao-Urabe — in partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society and the Japanese American Citizens League.

Books available for sale via XIA Books mobile bookstore!

📍 East Side Freedom Library
🗓 Sunday, May 17 · 1–3pm
Free & open to the public

05/06/2026

The East Side Freedom Library is proud to partner with ConneQT and Trans Refuge to host monthly Host Home Info Sessions, starting Thursday, May 7th!

In a moment when trans and nonbinary people face escalating political attacks and erasure from public life, community care matters more than ever. When systems fail, neighbors step in.

Join us to learn how you can be part of a community-based response rooted in relationship, dignity, and collective care. 🏡✊

What to expect:
🔹 Learn about host homes & accompaniment work
🔹 Understand the needs of LGBTQ+ youth & trans refugees in our community
🔹 Explore ways to get involved with no pressure, no obligation
🔹 Connect with others committed to showing up

Hosting is a form of mutual aid rooted in our collective liberation, built on showing up, building trust, and sharing resources.

📅 First Thursday of every month
📍 East Side Freedom Library: 1105 Greenbrier St., St. Paul
🗓️ First session: May 7, 2026

05/04/2026

Mayor Kaohly Her is coming to the District 5 Community Council's monthly meeting and she wants to hear from YOU. We're hosting a community conversation about Northern Iron & Machine — come share your thoughts, concerns, and ideas directly with the Mayor.

📅 Tuesday May 26th | 6:00PM – 8:00PM
📍 Arlington Hills Community Center
1200 Payne Ave., St. Paul, MN 55130

This is your chance to show up, speak up, and be part of the conversation shaping our neighborhood. The Mayor is here to listen

Questions? Email us at [email protected]

04/30/2026

Join us for a powerful conversation around American Peril, an expansive and unflinching account of anti-Asian violence in America — one that connects the dots between domestic and global events that have long been erased from the official record. This isn't just history. It's a call to action.

Author Scott Kurashige — award-winning scholar and coauthor of The Next American Revolution with Grace Lee Boggs — sits down with celebrated local voices Bao Phi and Bo Thao-Urabe for a conversation about community, resistance, and the hope that lives in grassroots, multiracial solidarity.

This event is presented in partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society and the Japanese American Citizens League — and copies of the book will be available for purchase through the XIA Books mobile bookstore. 🛒

📅 Sunday May 17th 2026 from 1-3PM
📍East Side Freedom Library - 1105 Greenbrier St Saint Paul MN 55106

"American Peril will become a mainstay in classrooms and libraries... for any who want to understand the pernicious role that white supremacy has played in shaping what it means to be American." — Jeff Yang

04/24/2026

Part of our Housing Justice Program. We are so happy to partner with Avenues for Youth for this monthly series.

📆 Mark your calendars! Bring your friends! ConneQT (the Avenues Host Home program) is partnering with Trans Refuge to host monthly host home info sessions at East Side Freedom Library (1105 Greenbrier, St. Paul). The first session will start on Thursday, May 7, 2026, and recur on the first Thursday of every month after.

In this moment, when trans and nonbinary people are facing escalating political attacks and attempts to erase them from public life, community care matters more than ever.

When systems fail, neighbors step in.

Join us to learn how you can be part of a community-based response rooted in relationship, dignity, and collective care.

What to expect:
🏳️‍⚧️ Learn about host homes and accompaniment work
🏳️‍🌈 Understand the needs of LGBTQ+ youth and trans refugees in our community
🏳️‍⚧️ Explore ways to get involved, with no pressure or obligation
🏳️‍🌈 Connect with others committed to showing up

Hosting is a form of mutual aid rooted in our collective liberation grounded in showing up, building trust, and sharing resources.