Dear Neighbor,
I hope you’re surviving the cold snap we’re having. Here’s quick update on what’s been happening at the Capitol and two upcoming events at the East Side Freedom Library:
Special Session Working Groups
Legislators met last week to discuss three issues for a possible special session: REAL ID compliance, disparities within communities of color, and unemployment on the Iron Range. Governor Dayton has called for a special session to work on these important issues, but it appears unlikely now that we know REAL ID won’t be enforced until 2018. Additionally, the political parties are having a hard time agreeing on how to address racial disparities, but are still meeting.
As I’ve said before, I’m committed to doing the hard work of solving the issues that affect our community. Communities of color have faced troubling disparities in opportunity and outcome for too long. While I’ve been working on this issue for years, it’s time for major actions. I’m hopeful we will get something significant done this year, as more and more people at the legislature seem ready to act.
At the River I Stand
The East Side Freedom Library will be hosting a screening and discussion of At the River I Stand on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The award winning documentary tells the story of 1,300 black Memphis sanitation workers who walked off the job to demand equal treatment, fair wages and union representation in the wake of two deaths. In the final year of his life, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rallied at the side of the strikers, demanding equality for the black sanitation workers.
This event is co-sponsored by the Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation.
Where: East Side Freedom Library - 1105 Greenbrier St.
When: Monday, January 18 – 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Dear World, a performance by Ten Thousand Things
Ten Thousand Things Theater Company is proud to present another free performance on the East Side. This time it’s Dear World, based on the book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee. Dear World is set in in Paris and centers on a group of eccentrics and outcasts who band together to thwart the plans of evil businessmen who are plotting to extract oil from under the city’s streets and cafes. The play celebrates the power of unconventional outlooks that are unburdened by wealth or greed.
Where: East Side Freedom Library - 1105 Greenbrier St.
When: Wednesday, January 20 – 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
As always, feel free to contact me with your thoughts and concerns.
Sincerely,
Sheldon Johnson