Shi is serving with TakeAction Minnesota Education Fund as a tenant organizer with the Duluth Tenants Union. Since the union’s launch in October 2024, they’ve seen an increase in membership and have been able to help multiple Duluth residents get repairs. Last month, to better connect with Duluth tenants the union released The Pack Post, its first zine publication, with Shi serving as project leader.
According to Shi, “By combining education, storytelling, and calls to action, the zine can be a transformative tool for building tenant power in Duluth. Ultimately, we want to plant the seeds of hope and get more people to find their way to membership, volunteering, and leadership within Duluth Tenants.”
Zines are small DIY (do-it-yourself), hand-assembled publications that are cheap to produce and easy to distribute. The production of zines has long been a tradition of tenant organizers and movement groups. The eight-page zine was printed in black and white and features collages, poems, a book review, and a renter testimonial. Shi and other union members printed 1,000 copies of the zine and distributed it to nearly 100 local spots including coffee shops, game stores, and little free libraries. An online version of the zine can be viewed here.
For Shi, working on the zine was an intersection of skill and passion, as they recently completed certification in user experience/user interface design, and plan to pursue project management certification as well. In addition to managing the project, Shi contributed words and collages.
Creative outreach like the zine allows the Duluth Tenants Union to grow and connect with renters into a community larger and more joyful than the problems tenants share. For as Shi puts it, “creating is at the core of community.” Shi’s larger goal is that this community of tenants will change the rental landscape in Duluth: “I want everyone in our city to be safe, healthy, and live with dignity.”
Leave a Reply