Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Rachleff.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in the 1950s-1960s in a city (New London, Connecticut) which was racially diverse but small enough that there was only one junior high and high school. I became very interested in racial justice and the war in Vietnam. In college, I became involved in activism along with intensive study to develop an understanding of why war and racism were such powerful influences in American history. I was fortunate to find generous mentors, both in college and in “the movement.” In the mid-1970s, I went to grad school at the University of Pittsburgh, where I focused on American labor history and how race and racism had shaped the development of the American working class. I researched and completed a PhD dissertation on the labor movement in Richmond, Virginia, from the Civil War and Reconstruction to the end of the 19th century. In 1982 I moved to St. Paul to become a faculty member in the History Department at Macalester College. I taught there for 32 years, making connections with local labor organizations and mentoring students of color who were interested in pursuing graduate study (Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program). I also co-chaired solidarity committees for striking workers at Hormel (1985-86) and Northwest Airlines (2005-06). In 2014, my partner Beth Cleary and I co-founded the East Side Freedom Library as an organization and a project to “inspire solidarity, work for justice, and advocate for equity for all.” ESFL now has 38,000 books and more than 7,000 subscribers to our e-newsletter. Three months ago, Beth and I stepped down as co-executive directors, but we continue to play active roles in the organization.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Hardly smooth. At Macalester, I was involved in numerous conflicts with the administration (college purchase of sweatshop-made goods; college investments in corporations doing business in South Africa; admissions policies; support for students of color; and more). In the labor movement, support for Hormel and Northwest Airlines strikers were controversial with the union leadership. At the East Side Freedom Library, we have taken on issues of white supremacy, corporate exploitation of workers, challenges of building solidarity between descendants of European immigrants and new immigrants from southeast Asia, central America, and East Africa. We have struggled to raise funds, particularly from the state and city government.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Last November 13, 2022, we convened a panel of workers (a nurse, a teacher, a bus driver, a bus mechanic, a psychiatric social worker, a cook in a hospital) to comment on an art exhibit, “Essential Worker Portraits” by Duluth artist Carolyn Sue Olson. This is a great example of our work at its best — to center stories that are normally marginalized, to recognize that workers think and can express themselves, to link art and social struggle. I think of myself as a “connector,” facilitating relationships that cross boundaries. I carry a great deal of knowledge, having studied and taught for four decades, but I continue to learn from those with whom I work, and I center them as producers of knowledge.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
St. Paul — A city in which immigrants and their descendants have played key roles for 150 years, a city in which workers and the labor movement have helped shape the course of history. But — it is also a city that has erased the local history of indigenous people, has overridden the needs and voices of African Americans, and which has not embraced our newest neighbors. Local employers and local government continue to exacerbate problems rather than contribute to their solution.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eastsidefreedomlibrary.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/east.side.freedom.library/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EastSideFreedomLibrary
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ESFLibrary
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/EastsidefreedomlibraryOrg/videos
