Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) emphasized the disproportionate impact of student loans on Black borrowers during her latest call for debt cancellation, YahooFinance.com reported. "The student debt crisis is an economic justice, gender justice, and racial justice issue — Black borrowers — especially Black women — are among the most impacted by the student debt crisis," Pressley said at the recent Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) annual legislative conference. "It is a crisis for Black America affecting our elders, our caregivers, our educators, and our families." Black borrowers hold the most student loan debt, according to a study by the NAACP, with 86.4% of Black bachelor’s degree holders and 81% of Black students pursuing master's and doctoral degrees borrowing for school. That greater debt burden is a barrier to building wealth and contributes to the racial wealth gap, preventing borrowers from homeownership, starting businesses, or paying for their kids’ college.
