The NAACP has sent an open letter to President Joe Biden, condemning his decision to restart student loan payments.
Biden made the concession during his negotiations with Republican Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, to resolve the debt ceiling crisis. The NAACP has said that this move will disproportionately affect Black Americans, perpetuating the cycle of poverty.
NAACP CEO and President Derrick Johnson youth and college division Director Wisdom Cole wrote that while the debt deal was “wholeheartedly welcomed,” the organization is “disappointed that the needs of Black communities have suffered from the negotiated agreement that will erode economic progress for Black Americans.”
“Given the Administration’s stated focus on equity, it is disappointing that narrowing the racial wealth gap was not given a higher priority," they wrote.
Biden announced a plan in August to cancel up to $10,000 in federal loan debt, with $20,000 eliminated for recipients of Pell Grants. Around 60 percent of Pell Grant recipients are Black students.
According to a report from PBS NewsHour, Black Americans hold hold the most debt out of all racial groups. Student loan borrowers who are Black are 50 times as likely to have loans become debt as their White counterparts.
“The value of education is ingrained among Black Americans,” Johnson and Cole continued. “Yet, the lack of generational wealth, predatory lending practices that increase the high cost of financing education, and other factors create barriers to economic success. Immediate and sustained education debt relief is essential to the economic fate of Black student loan borrowers.”
While the NAACP praised Biden's student loan program when it was announced, they noted that at least $50,000 in student loan forgiveness is needed to close the racial wealth gap. Johnson and Cole urged Biden to “pursue all legal pathways” to ensure that students would see some loan forgiveness.
“Let us be clear," they wrote. "Absent further, swift action in the wake of an unfavorable ruling from the Court, Black voters stand to be incredibly disillusioned by an Administration who failed to deliver on key campaign promises but succeeded in widening the racial wealth gap and propelling their families, friends, neighbors, and colleagues into economic uncertainty."
