At 52, Betty Ann enrolled in law school. Her white classmates tormented her, shoving her books off tables and laughing when she struggled to retrieve them.
Knowing Ann was poor, students would wave tuition checks for thousands of dollars in her face. But this wasn’t even Ann’s biggest concern.
Ann borrowed $29,000 in federal loans to make ends meet. Today Ann is 91— and she owes $329,309.69 in student debt because of the interest her loans accrued over time!
The Biden administration recently promised to forgive anywhere between $10,000-$20,000 of student loan debts.
To be blunt, this won’t cut it for Black students. Most undergraduate Black students leave with $52,000 in debt, and 4 years after graduation, 48% of us owe roughly 12.5% more than what we originally borrowed.
Historically, white supremacy denied us education, terrified we’d use the knowledge gained to challenge oppressive systems. Now, the cost of education is a means to exclude us — other countries offer free higher education!
Black people should have access to free education AND total loan forgiveness as reparations we’re owed. Like Betty Ann, don’t pay back systems intent on destroying us.