“RE-RIGHTING HISTORY” CELEBRATES LEGISLATIVE VICTORY FOR MINNESOTA YOUTH Youthprise honors those who successfully advocated for youth to receive unemployment insurance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lynne Matthews - Lynne@youthprise.org
“RE-RIGHTING HISTORY” CELEBRATES LEGISLATIVE VICTORY FOR MINNESOTA YOUTH
Youthprise honors those who successfully advocated for youth to receive unemployment insurance
SAINT PAUL, MN (July 2022). Youthprise is hosting Re-Righting History: A Celebration of Youth Unemployment Insurance Benefits to applaud legislation making youth eligible to collect unemployment benefits. The new policy, which took effect earlier this month, changed a longstanding law that prohibited all high school students from collecting unemployment, although – just like adults – they pay into the system.
Re-Righting History will take place on July 19, 2022, from 2:30 to 3:30 on Minnesota’s State Capitol grounds. Youthprise will recognize youth, public officials, and community leaders who advocated for passage of the law. Among those offering remarks are Minnesota’s Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan (invited); Attorney General Keith Ellison; and Steve Grove, Commissioner, MN Department of Employment and Economic Development.
We will also hear from Walter Cortina, Hayat Muse, and Lincoln Bacal, who are among the young people who catalyzed and led the movement, starting with a petition and an eventual legal filing that successfully reversed the state's decision to deny pandemic unemployment assistance to high school students. Those efforts resulted in more than $35M paid to Minnesota's high school students and paved the way for the new legislation.
“This event brings attention to the power of young people to bring about lasting, positive change when different sectors of the larger community come together to support them with resources and a platform for their voices to be heard," said Marcus Pope, President of Youthprise. "We intend to celebrate the young people who led with great resolve, as well as the adults and systems that saw their vision and supported it."
Re-Righting History is open to the public. Registration is encouraged.
About Youthprise
Youthprise's mission is to increase equity with and for Minnesota's indigenous, low-income, and racially diverse youth. We envision a Minnesota where outcomes are no longer predictable by race, geography, or socioeconomic status. Youthprise innovates systems, structures, and practices that enable youth to thrive by mobilizing and investing resources, advancing knowledge, and advocating for change. For more information, visit youthprise.org.
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