July 5th, 2023

Black borrowers, leaders react to Supreme Court’s student debt relief rejection

Tanisha Bhat

The Supreme Court’s decision last week to strike down President Biden’s signature student loan forgiveness plan will disproportionately impact Black borrowers, who are more likely to finance their degrees through debt because they have less generational wealth, are the first in their families to attend college and experience pay disparities after graduation.

That’s the view of Black borrowers interviewed recently after the nation’s highest court ruled, in a 6-3 vote along ideological lines, that the president does not have the authority to implement a $400 billion program to forgive student loan debt.

Now, more than 40 million Americans, many of them Black, Hispanic and low income, will have to restart repaying their loans in October after a three-year reprieve, though Biden said he will try an alternative path to debt relief.

But for many Black college graduates, the Supreme Court’s decision was a huge blow.

“It’s kind of is a rude awakening,” said Maureen Mitchell, who graduated from Boston College in 1983 and is still repaying her student loan, which in total is around $30,000.

College professor Marcy DeVeaux said she felt “profound sadness” after the decision.

 Black college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than their white peers, and more than 50% of Black student borrowers said their net worth is less than they owe in student loan debt, according to the Education Data Initiative, a research team that collects statistics on the U.S. education system.

Student loan forgiveness would have increased the wealth of Black Americans by up to 40%, the data said, making it easier for them to buy a car and a house and start a family.

In blocking Biden’s debt relief program, the court ruled that the initiative was not backed by Congress and is unlawful under the 2003 Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act. The act allows the government to provide student debt relief during a national emergency to ensure borrowers do not struggle financially during the crisis.

 The president’s program would have canceled $10,000 for individuals earning less than $125,000 annually or couples making $250,000 annually. Recipients of the federal Pell Grant, given to low-income borrowers, would have been eligible for an additional $10,000 in debt relief.

Following the court’s decision, Biden announced his administration is seeking a different legal pathway under the Higher Education Act, which allows the secretary of education to “compromise, waive, or release” federal student loans. But it will take up to a year for borrowers to see any relief.

In remarks at the White House, Biden said he understood and shared the disappointment and anger of millions of Americans.

“I’m never going to stop fighting for you,” he said. “We’ll use every tool at our disposal to get you the student debt relief you need and reach your dreams.”

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, a longtime proponent of canceling student loan debt, called the ruling unjust.

“The president’s plan to cancel student debt would change and save lives, and borrowers across the country who feel devastated by this unjust ruling should know that this fight is not over,” said Pressley in a press release. “The people demand and deserve this long overdue economic relief and a promise is a promise.”

For Black borrowers hoping for some relief, last week’s court decision was devastating.

Mitchell is still paying off her student loans 40 years after she received her bachelor’s degree in communications and theater. She said paying back the loan has been stressful.

“I was able to get a loan so that I could get a college education,” she said. “But the loan has actually been a hardship because it changed hands so many times, and it was difficult as a young person to understand when you incur those kinds of expenses or charges. You are responsible for paying all of that back.”

Mitchell said if her federal loan was forgiven, she would be able to concentrate on paying the other loan she took out for $10,000 to help pay for her paralegal certificate. She said Biden’s forgiveness plan was a “glimmer of hope” for people struggling to pay their loans.

DeVeaux, a professor at California State University, Northridge, holds four degrees — a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees and a doctorate — all of which she self-financed through student loans. DeVeaux said she originally took out $70,000 in federal student loans, but after interest she owed $110,000.

Raised by a single mother of four, DeVeaux said she knew that she would have to pay for college herself.

“There was no way my family was going to be able to pay,” she said.

 She ended up being among the lucky ones who did not have to endure years of college debt. As a state employee, DeVeaux was able to get her federal loans forgiven earlier this year through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which cancels student loan debt for employees of the federal, state, local or tribal government or non-profit organizations after 10 years of on-time payments.

“I feel like the weight of the world is off my shoulders,” she said. “I had every intention of paying this loan. I was trying to figure out how I was going to pay it.” 

DeVeaux said many young people are burdened with student loans, especially those who are first generation college students, come from less affluent backgrounds or need additional degrees to continue their profession.

“I hear a lot of the naysayers say things like ‘Why should student loan borrowers get a break?’ Well, if the playing field was level, that would be a legitimate question,” she said. “They just see some of us looking for a handout, when in fact there’s another story to be told.”