We all know canceling student loan debt is a racial justice issue. Borrowers in the U.S. collectively hold over $1.7 trillion in student debt and Black, Latinx, and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by student loans. Two decades after starting school, Black borrowers on average still owe 95 percent of all of their student debt while white borrowers on average have paid off 94 percent of their student debt.
President Biden promised to address student loan debt on the campaign trail, and we are joining our partners at Student Debt Crisis, NextGen America, NAACP, and Generation Progress to make sure he and Congress hear from you. Today, we are launching the #CancelStudentDebt Voices Project to give borrowers a simple way to tell their stories and contribute to a fuller, more accurate picture of the people who are impacted by student loan debt. In sharing these powerful testimonies, we hope to demonstrate the life-altering potential of free college and broad-based student debt cancellation.
We can push for policy changes. We can lobby effectively. But we need your voices too. Please tell us what student debt cancellation means to you.
We need first-hand accounts of what it’s like to live with student debt. We know the power of compelling stories to change hearts and minds – and to move this work to the top of the legislative agenda. Our goal is nothing less than student debt cancellation for all; to achieve that, we need to show how cancellation would transform your lives or the lives of your friends and family.
We are launching the campaign through a live Town Hall Event TODAY with special remarks from Senator Schumer. We will share stories with supporters, advocates, and the press with the mission of pressuring lawmakers in Washington to take action. And, we want all of you to join the discussion.
Whitney Barkley-Denney
Senior Policy Counsel
Center for Responsible Lending
The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is a leading nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on financial fairness and opportunity. Fighting for economic justice for low- and middle-income families, military personnel and veterans, and people of color is our mission and highest priority.
