Lawd… I’ve seen what you’ve done for others. Others meaning the students at Morehouse College who were just relieved of up to $10 million in student debt across 2,000 accounts thanks to a debt union.
Morehouse announced their partnership with the Debt Collective, a non-profit debt relief advocacy union, to help students pay off their school loans from the Fall 2022 semester and prior. In July, The Rolling Jubilee Fund, the debt union’s sister organization, bought the outstanding student loans for just $125,000. CNN reports that instead of hiring debt collectors, the Fund erases the remaining balance of what is owed. That total rang up to a whopping $9,707,827. Then, poof! Just like that, the Debt Collective wiped it out.
“This nearly $10M of student debt cancellation will put thousands of Black folks in a better position to be able to save for retirement, purchase a home or start a small business,” Braxton Brewington, spokesperson for the Debt Collective, said. “President Biden has yet to make good on his campaign promise to eliminate all student debt held by HBCU graduates. We’re doing our part, and it’s time Biden does his.”
Read more from CNN:
The debt forgiveness also allows students to finish their education or access transcripts that are withheld due to unpaid balances, [Brewington] added.
The move comes as the Biden administration continues to seek alternative ways to provide relief to student loan borrowers after the Supreme Court ruled the administration’s debt cancellation plan was unconstitutional.
Brewington said despite the setbacks on the federal level, the administration should continue to work to expedite efforts to cancel student debt through existing programs, regulations and laws.
Since the high court’s ruling, the Biden administration has announced several alternative means to assist borrowers in managing and canceling student debt, CNN previously reported.
The Debt Collective recently eliminated up to $2 million in debt across 500 Bennett College students in Greensboro, Nc.
The union doesn’t purchase federal loans but rather funds owed directly to the school. At the moment, Black bachelor’s degree holders have a national average of $52,000 in student loan debt, according to the Education Data Initiative. Imagine how many students are struggling to make it on their own just because of the debt hanging over their heads.