Red Alert - February
What the Black radical tradition teaches us about resistance + opportunities to learn more and take action
“The only effective guarantee against the victory of fascism is an invisible mass movement which refuses to conduct business as usual as long as repression rages on.” – Angela Davis
As we continue to witness the fascist reshaping of the state through attacks on public education, healthcare budget cuts, and ICE’s ongoing assault on immigrants, it’s natural to feel hopeless or overwhelmed. But history reminds us that we are not without guidance. Black and Indigenous communities have long struggled against authoritarian systems and have led powerful social movements to resist them.
This Black History Month, we’re committed to studying the Black radical tradition to understand how the U.S. continually fails to live up to its promise of liberty and justice for all — and how we can organize for a better future. Writers and activists like Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett have fought on the front lines and shared valuable insight that can prepare us to meet our current moment.
Join us this Friday for “Black Antifascism: Lessons from the Past for the Current Moment & Beyond,” a panel facilitated by Debt Collective organizer Dr. Shamell Bell in conversation with scholar-activists Charisse Burden-Stelly and Jeanelle K. Hope. Together, we’ll explore the connections between anti-Blackness, fascism, and state repression and how to bring these lessons into our social movements.
Read on for more of what we’ve been up to over the last month and how you can get involved.
Higher Education
The higher ed team has been sounding the alarm that people with Parent PLUS loans should consider consolidating before April 1 to avoid having Trump hike their payments. Get the word out to everyone in your life who has Parent PLUS loans, and join us on March 2nd for Parent PLUS office hours to learn more.
Next week, we’re kicking off a new semester of Jubilee School that’s all about College for All. We’ll be joined by experts in higher education, finance, abolition, and more to unpack the roots of the student debt crisis and explore solutions that can move us towards free college and debt cancellation. Join us for our launch event on Thursday, March 3 and register for the rest of this semester’s workshops!
Finally, fill out our student debt survey to help us build our case for debt cancellation — you might even win some Debt Collective merch!
Healthcare
Over the last year, we’ve seen a deliberate assault by the Trump administration on the country’s profoundly broken public health and healthcare infrastructure. We’ve only just begun to see the consequences of federal Medicaid cuts, expired ACA subsidies, slashes to medical research funding, rollbacks of vaccine recommendations, and attacks on countless other social service programs — all sure to make us sick and drive us further into debt.
We’re mad. Maybe you are too. What can we do about it? Join us as we resume our Power Mapping the Healthcare System series on March 31 to discuss what’s changed under Trump, what hasn’t, and where we can build power in this moment of crisis to fight for the healthcare system and the world we want.
Over the next few weeks we’ll also be reaching out to folks who have expressed interest in learning more about our HealthWatch Organizing Cohort, a network focused on coordinating responses to the consequences of federal healthcare cuts across the country and learning from each other in the process. If you haven’t already, fill out this interest form so our organizers know to loop you in with more information.
Housing
For months, tenants at an Equity Residential apartment complex in Los Angeles have been on a utilities strike to demand that their corporate landlord stop using an opaque system of calculating utilities charges known as RUBS (Ratio Utilities Billing System). Now, the Los Angeles City Council is taking up the matter.
A recent report from the Los Angeles Housing Department is calling for the end of RUBS in rent stabilized housing in the city. However, many tenants who have RUBS (including the tenants on utilities strike) don’t live in rent stabilized apartments! That’s why Equity Residential tenants are organizing across the city and urging the City Council to end RUBS for all tenants. Stay tuned for updates as we fight to end this practice in America’s second largest city!
Upcoming Events
Black Anti-Fascism: Lessons from the Past for the Current Moment & Beyond
RSVP: Friday, February 27 1pm ET / 10am PT
Facilitated by Debt Collective Visionary Escalator Dr. Shamell Bell and cosponsored by the Coalition for Action in Higher Education, this event features leading scholar-activists Charisse Burden-Stelly and Jeanelle K. Hope in conversation on why we must draw on the Black Anti-Fascist Tradition in this moment to organize against authoritarianism and state repression.
Final Friday Flow
RSVP: Friday, February 27th 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT
RSVP: Friday, March 27th 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT
Held on the last Friday of each month, these gatherings are designed to remind us that the path to debt abolition and collective liberation begins within. Through guided somatic and movement-based practices, we’ll transform exhaustion into power, fear into vision, and pain into purpose.
Office Hours: Parent PLUS Loans
RSVP: Monday, March 2nd 5pm ET / 2pm PT
If you have Parent PLUS loans, you may need to take steps well before July 1, 2026 to make sure your loans qualify for lower payments and cancellation. Come to these office hours to learn about the situation facing PLUS borrowers and take the first steps together to consolidate.
Movement Monday
RSVP: Monday, March 2nd 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT
Held on the first Monday of each month, these gatherings invite us to pause, breathe, and reconnect with our bodies as a vital part of organizing for debt abolition and collective care. We’ll check in with ourselves and each other through accessible, grounding somatic practices that support nervous system regulation, accountability, and mutual support.
Borrower Defense: Legislation & Litigation
RSVP: Tuesday, March 3rd 8pm ET / 5pm PT
Our Monthly Borrower Defense Calls are designed for borrowers navigating fraud, misconduct, and student loan injustice. Each call provides timely updates on the Borrower Defense landscape, current litigation, and policy developments alongside practical guidance on asserting your rights and filing claims.
New Member Call
RSVP: Wednesday, March 4th 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Curious about the Debt Collective and how we’re organizing to abolish debt? Our New Member Call is a space to learn who we are, what we’re fighting for, and how you can plug in.
College for All Jubilee School: Kickoff
RSVP: Thursday, March 5th 5pm ET / 2pm PT
As public support for colleges and universities is eroding, we must fight back to win tuition-free public college, dignified labor conditions, academic freedom, and debt cancellation. Join us for our Jubilee School kickoff, where we’ll start to unpack these problems in higher ed and potential solutions with guest speaker Mark Huelsman.
College for All Jubilee School: The Making of the Student Debt Crisis
RSVP: Thursday, March 12th 5pm ET - 2pm PT
Debt Collective co-founder Astra Taylor unpacks the roots of the current crisis in higher education to understand how we arrived at this current moment.
Borrower Defense: Private Loans – Navient Misconduct Application
RSVP: Tuesday, March 17th 8pm ET / 5pm PT
Our Monthly Borrower Defense Calls are designed for borrowers navigating fraud, misconduct, and student loan injustice. On this call, we’ll hear from CA-based lawyer Sparky Abraham on navigating private loans and Navient’s misconduct application.
Office Hours: Debtors in Default
RSVP: Thursday, March 19th 3pm ET / 12pm PT
Join us as we discuss options for debtors with federal student loans in default. We will cover options that require repayment, like rehabilitation and consolidation, as well as options that do not, like loan cancellation. We will also provide information about free tax filing resources from GetYour Refund.
50 Over 50 Monthly Call
RSVP: Thursday, March 19th 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Are you 50 years old or older? Do you have student loan debt? Join our 50/50 meeting for student debtors aged fifty and above to discuss action steps, organizing plans, and build solidarity. Newcomers are welcome!
Office Hours: Student Loans & Filing Your Taxes
RSVP: Wednesday, March 25th 5pm ET / 2pm PT
This session will cover some Frequently Asked Questions related to tax filing and student loans. We will also provide information about free tax filing resources from GetYour Refund, a free tax preparation tool.
College for All Jubilee School: Tuition Prices
RSVP: Thursday, March 26th 5pm ET / 2pm PT
Join guest speaker Doha Mekki, principal deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s antitrust division, to explore the role that private equity companies play in inflating tuition pricing, the increasing cost of college, and the role of merit aid in discounting tuition.
Power Mapping the Healthcare System in 2026
RSVP: Tuesday, March 31st 7pm ET / 4pm PT
Join us as we resume our Power Mapping the Healthcare System series to discuss what’s changed under Trump, what hasn’t, and where we see opportunities to fight for something better in this moment of crisis.
