President Biden’s refusal to eliminate student debt is beyond the reach of black voters who helped make him elected

Last month, President Biden declared that he would not support forgiveness of student debt and took a big step back in fulfilling the promises he made to black voters and black women during his campaign. When asked about the proposal by Senator Schumer, Senator Warren and other lawmakers to eliminate $ 50,000 per person from student loan debt at a CNN prefecture, Biden said quickly: “I am not going to make this happen.”

Biden’s position is clearly beyond the reach of black voters, who were instrumental in his victory in November. Color Of Change has just launched a survey that shows that 84% of black voters support the elimination of student debt. Forty percent said they would not vote for a candidate who opposed this, and another 40% said they want Biden to ensure that any student admitted to public college can finish without taking out loans.

Read More

The student loan debt crisis is not just a national economic issue – it is also an issue of racial justice at its core. The price of higher education is intentionally unfair to black students due to the racist policies that support and increase the difference in racial wealth. Many credit companies offer predatory lending practices, limited access to bank loans, deceptive marketing and unnecessary fees that raise the price of education for blacks compared to their white peers.

However, it is increasingly difficult to get a job that pays the bills without a university degree. Ninety-one percent of black voters surveyed believe that the cost of higher education makes college unattainable, and the same percentage of black voters believe that attending college is beneficial to the country as a whole. When you think about how higher education is revered in our society compared to the price of attending college – it is clear that black communities were prevented from having opportunities from the start.

The story continues

Sixty-four percent of black voters who have never attended a post-secondary institution say it was because of student loan debt, and 70 percent believe that pursuing higher education is no longer worth the cost. More than half of students go into debt to go to college and graduates in 2020 owe, on average, $ 37,500 – a figure that has steadily increased by 20% over the past five years.

Part of the centuries of economic oppression that prevented black communities from accumulating generational wealth, black students are more likely to postpone their loans for a few years – accumulating thousands more in interest that potentially forces them to live on wages for wages or to work on several. jobs – just to pay off loans until adulthood. Not to mention that many blacks take out private loans to pay for college, who do not even qualify for pardoning the federal student loan. These repercussions continue to spread across generations and entire communities. According to our poll:

• 73 percent said they would save for retirement

• 53 percent would buy a house instead of renting

• 49 percent would live in a different neighborhood

• 48 percent more likely to leave a job where they face discrimination

• 30 percent would seek to start their own small business

MP Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) Said it best when she tweeted earlier this year, “Do you want to thank black women? Cancel the student’s debt – all of it. “

Black women have more student debt than any other group in America today, so it’s no surprise that, according to our research, black women show the greatest support for eliminating student loan debt. We need tangible legislation to improve our lives, support our families and create economic mobility in our communities – policies like a living wage and affordable education opportunities that allow us to break down, rather than reform, the structural barriers that limit our upward mobility in almost everyone aspects of our economy and society.

Biden needs to take bold steps to make college accessible to black families and completely eliminate private and federal student debt – not just $ 10,000 during the pandemic. If Democrats want black voters to come to them in 2022 and 2024, Congress and the Biden-Harris government need to translate their campaign promises into policies.

All the promises of politicians who say that “Black lives are important” are worth nothing if they are hindering our upward mobility and policy change. And the total elimination of student loan debt – along with raising the minimum wage and ending mass incarceration – is one of the most powerful ways to help repair centuries of systemic racism and undo economic inequality.

Black women and voters worked non-stop to help Biden beat Trump and turn the Senate to the blue. Biden knows this, and that’s one of the reasons he has to put black women at the center of his agenda. This government will be judged not only on its perspective – but on its policies. It’s time for Biden to make a real commitment to advancing racial equity and eliminating students’ total debt – forever.

Go to ColorOfChange.org and Demand that Congress ELIMINATE student loan debt.

Arisha Hatch is vice president of campaigns for Color Of Change, the country’s largest online racial justice organization. Color Of Change helps people to respond effectively to injustices in the world around us. As a national online force driven by more than 7 million members, we move decision makers across corporations and governments to create a more humane and less hostile world for blacks in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org.