The burden of student loan debt has harmed Black borrowers more than any other group. Not only do employers often pay Black people less than their white counterparts, but decades of predatory lending practices have also prevented many Black families from generating wealth through homeownership. As a result, Black students can have a harder time affording quality higher education and benefiting from the long-term economic mobility it provides. A recent study found that Black and Latinx families owe more in student loans but have less capacity to pay. Education loan debt is disproportionately a problem for Black and Latinx borrowers because of the amount of money they owe.   

The education loan system further perpetuates the racial wealth gap in America because Black, brown, and lower-income individuals have a harder time paying back their loans. Black students often have to borrow more to cover the cost of tuition and other expenses, which causes them to have high rates of student loan debt compared to other groups. Nationally, Black college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in loan debt than white college graduates. Four-year post-graduate data show that 48% of Black students owe 12.5% more than they borrowed. Black students are the most likely to struggle financially due to education loan debt, because around 29% of Black borrowers have to make monthly payments of $350 or more. This causes strain on Black families who tend to have lower incomes than their white peers due to years of policies and practices that blocked them from building wealth, excluded them from good jobs and undervalued their work.

Ohioans with middle and lower incomes are struggling coming out of the pandemic. Education loan cancellation will provide them with much needed relief. Twenty years after starting school, the median Black student borrower has $18,500 in loans remaining, while the median white borrower has $1,000 in loans according to a report released in 2019.

Based on recent census data, Ohio’s median household-income is $58, 116 — meaning the majority of residents will qualify for education loan cancellation under Biden’s plan. This could be particularly transformational for Black Ohioans. Hourly wages for Black residents are $5 less than those of their white counterparts. Higher education helps people secure better wages, but it can be out of reach when they are struggling to pay for basic needs like food or housing, let alone making a monthly payment on student loans.   

 Upon receiving degrees Black people on average have fewer job prospects and are paid less than their white peers. For many Black Ohioans the education loan cancellation is a step in the right direction toward increasing their overall wealth, but it is not enough. State and federal policymakers can cancel even more education debt. That would help repair years of policies that blocked Black and brown Americans from sharing in our nation’s prosperity and improve outcomes for all people regardless of what they look like or where they live.