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Join us for a book talk with author Jillian Berman, Philly Council Member Kendra Brooks, and local activists Dr. Jalil Bishop and Justice Passé.
In Sunk Cost, Jillian Berman uses interviews with borrowers, policymakers and historical research to show how a policy aimed at helping low- and middle-income Americans turned into one of the biggest consumer finance challenges of our time. One of the borrowers featured is Philadelphia’s own Kendra Brooks. Join Jillian, Councilmember Brooks and Philadelphia-based student debt organizers Dr. Jalil Bishop and Justice Passé to discuss the policies that got us to this point and how we can usher in a better future.
Jillian Berman is an award-winning reporter and editor at MarketWatch, where she’s written about student debt for a decade. She’s the author of Sunk Cost: Who is to Blame for the Nation’s Broken Student Loan System and How to Fix It.
Kendra Brooks is the first Working Families Party member elected to Philadelphia City Council in history. She serves as Minority Leader of City Council, a position previously held only by Republicans. Brooks also was at the forefront of efforts by local leaders to pressure the Biden administration to cancel student debt.
Dr. Jalil Mustaffa Bishop is an activist and researcher focused on expanding the public good through racial justice movements. He co-founded Equity Research Cooperative, a collective of advocates working to be the research arm of movement building through redistribution, data, and solidarity. He has published dozens of op-eds, journal articles, and book chapters on the Black Student Debt Crisis, grassroots policymaking, and anti-Blackness.
Justice Passé is a native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Community College of Philadelphia. He shared his story of navigating the higher education finance system in Sunk Cost, including applying to more than 100 scholarships and winning a financial literacy competition in high school.