The announcement made by the US Department of Education on the federal student loan debt moratorium extension was welcome news. However, it is not enough! Before the pandemic, more than 43 million Americans owed nearly $1.7 trillion dollars in student loan debt. Since March 2020, borrowers with federal student loans have been interest free and not subject to any penalties. This small victory for some does not benefit the masses of student loan debt borrowers. “According to the American Association of University Women, on average, white men borrow $29,862 while black women borrow $37,558” the The American Association of University Women reports. 1K Women Strong is still committed to holding the Biden Administration accountable and supports cancelling $50,000 of federal student loan debt for eligible borrowers, especially Black women.
For Black women the financial burden is real. Canceling student loan debt will be an equitable decision towards economic liberation for black women. Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley contends the same argument. Pressley recently said, “We organized and fought to extend the pause on student loan payments…Now we have to go further and that is to cancel student debt up to $50,000 with the same authority that President Biden used to extend the pause on payments, to cancel student debt by executive action with the stroke of a pen and mitigate this hurt.”
We must create generational wealth for underrepresented families and cancelling $50,000 in student loan debt will help do so.
A moratorium extension is a good start. However to keep the promises made to voters on the campaign trail President Biden must address this national federal student loan debt crisis. The extra six months of payment deferrals will only delay another financial upset for Black women.
According to The American Association of University Women, “Women — particularly African American women — tend to be more likely to take out college loans, face a challenging wage gap when they find work, and struggle to repay their student loans, according to researchers.” I have seen people online rejoice and celebrate the extension because this will give them some
breathing room, however this is not the solution that we deserve. The only panacea is the cancellation of $50,000 in student loan debt.
At 1K Women Strong, we continue our fight to get 100,000 women to sign our cancel student loan debt petition and deliver them to Vice President Kamala Harris next month.
We will win this fight if we all show up and demand change.
Article Written by: Shakya Cherry-Donaldson, Executive Director | Shakya Cherry-Donaldson is the Executive Director of 1K Women Strong, a national constituency of Black women who are creating a network of the millions of Black women who are building the beloved community by engaging in civic, community, and electoral campaigns. Prior to establishing 1K Women Strong, she served as the Deputy Field Director: Statewide for Stacey Abrams for the governor of Georgia during the historic primary in 2016. Connect with her at info@1kwomenstrong.com or @thecherrydon on twitter.
