We're fed up, and we're taking action.
Dear John,
This week, I connected with DyAnna, my amazing friend and coworker. She’s throwing down and building power with folks across Minnesota for student debt cancellation.
DyAnna shared more about her work and her own story for student debt cancellation, saying:
“Student debt cancellation is an issue that matters deeply to me as a young, queer, rural-raised woman who fell victim to predatory lending at the age of 18 and will continue facing the impacts of that presumably for the rest of my life. This debt crisis and the burden it’s put on us is out of control. We’re fed up, and we’re taking action.”
2019 graduates in Minnesota had the 11th-highest average student-loan debt in the country. Minnesota ranked 5th in the nation in percentage of 2019 graduates with student-loan debt, at 66%. Even before COVID-19, one million new student debtors were defaulting on their student loans every year. Student loan defaults are most impacting women, Black, Indigenous and borrowers of color.
This crisis impacts all of us, and most of us have a story about the impact student debt cancellation would have on our lives and futures. Student debt cancellation team member Shayna Shafter shared her story from Duluth, saying:
“Before the pandemic hit, and student loans were placed on hold, my financial situation was a living balancing act. I was surviving paycheck to paycheck - paying bills to make sure my basic needs were met in addition to my monthly student loan payments.”
Are you ready to join me, DyAnna and Shayla in the fight for student debt cancellation? Take action with us now by signing our petition - and invite your friends to sign with you.
As we start to gather in person with our loved ones again, we’re excited for more opportunities to continue building power and solidarity across Minnesota and make the world we deserve to live in. Here are some more ways to get involved this week:
1. We’re calling on Minnesota Legislators to pass a Prescription Drug Affordability Board to rein in out-of-control prescription drug costs. The House has already passed the Board as part of the omnibus Commerce bill. That’s a huge victory. Now, it’s time for the Senate to step up and do their part. We need to tell them to pick a side: Minnesota’s families or Big Pharma’s profits. Email your senator now.
2. Take direct action to stop the Line 3 pipeline and attend the Treaty People Gathering up North next month - but don’t do it alone. TakeAction is connecting folks who are interested in attending with community. Learn more here.
3. Our solidarity goes beyond Minnesota, and our global liberation is bound together. Take action for Palestine and tell Congress to sanction Israeli apartheid.
In solidarity,
Jessie (she/her)
Communications Manager
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