HBCUs Bring Hope Amidst the Student Debt Crisis

Such great news for HBCUs and higher education in America!

After the passing of the CARES Act in March 2020, 20 HBCUs around the country were able to use the $1 billion in funding given to HBCUs and Minority Serving Institutions to pay off their students' debts.

At Florida A&M University, a historically Black university in Tallahassee, where over 60% of students receive federal Pell Grants and the average annual household income is less than $50,000, 7,946 students had their remaining tuition balance wiped clean.

Not only does erasing student debt directly benefit low-income students, but it also increases the graduation rates at these institutions. When students can't pay for their education, they can't continue. Now, students can focus on learning and graduating rather than money.

I recently commented extensively on an article by the Wall Street Journal about the wealth gap between Black and white Americans, and how college was actually making that gap wider. While the data from that article seemed bleak, the ability for colleges and universities to help pay off their students' debts is actually one of the fastest ways to close that widening wealth gap.

Overall, I'm happy for these institutions, and especially the students at these institutions who are finding new hope. While trend in America in the past few decades has been to erect even higher financial walls between students and their educations, what these HBCUs are doing is most definitely a step in the right direction. Every student deserves an education without barriers, and every institution is responsible for prioritizing the well-being of its students.