Author Archives: Maddy Clifford

Maddy Clifford is an Oakland-based writer, musician and organizer. Her creative practice tackles intersectional feminist topics, from debt abolition to environmental justice. Maddy's work has been featured in KQED Arts, she's amassed a growing social media following, and her expertise has provided her with the honor of teaching conflict resolution workshops in both Uganda and Argentina. Maddy recently became a core organizer with the Debt Collective, the nation's first debtor's union. Her ultimate goal is to leave an indelible footprint in a shifting cultural landscape, one in which freedom dreams can take root.

digital college with a yellow background and black all-caps sans serif text that reads "Debt" takes up the lower center left. Digital illustrations of three protesters stand with their backs to the front are under the "Debt" text, and a black-and-white photograph of a Black woman with short hair curly hair takes up the right side of the collage. from the top left, a dotted line curls on itself and has "student debt" in black letters curling with it

Economy & Workers' Rights

A degree or a debt sentence?

by Maddy Clifford May 4th, 2023May 4th, 2023

My diploma wasn’t my ticket out of poverty. It only marked the beginning of my descent into debt

digital collage with a yellow background. black silhouettes line the bottom and hold up picket signs reading "cancel debt now!" and "abolish debt." "debt" in large capital letters centers the collage. the black letters have lines of light yellow cutting horizontally across the bottom half. from the top left, a dotted line swoops diagonally down, with "student loan," "renters'," "medical," and "carceral" curving around the line

Economy & Workers' Rights

Prism and The Debt Collective partner to change debt narratives from shame to solidarity

by Maddy Clifford May 4th, 2023May 4th, 2023

Help us raise $20,000!