Civil rights groups urge Biden administration to cancel $50,000 in student debt per borrower

36 civil rights organizations have joined together in order to urge the Biden administration to cancel $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower. 

BREAKING: We just released Civil Rights Principles for Student Loan Debt Cancellation – signed by 35 other civil rights and education organizations.

It’s time for the Biden-Harris administration to #CancelStudentDebt to advance equity and civil rights: https://t.co/rstCnMVsxO pic.twitter.com/Xfde4LbDsb

— The Leadership Conference (@civilrightsorg) April 19, 2021

This is a move the coalition says will advance racial equity given how the negative consequences of the shift from publicly funded to debt-financed higher education have hit students of color especially hard, reports Common Dreams. 

“The $1.7 trillion student loan crisis is crushing individuals, families, and our economy, and the weight of this burden is disproportionately borne by women and Black and Latino borrowers, This did not happen by accident. Policymakers intentionally shifted away from publicly funding our higher education system to a primarily debt-financed system just as students of color and women gained access, disregarding the rising cost of college for students and families, persistent racial wealth and income disparities, ongoing discrimination in the labor and credit markets, and many other societal and policy failures,” writes the coalition in a statement. 

According to the coalition’s statement:

The only solution that addresses the harms of the past and clears the landscape to create a better system going forward is to cancel $50,000 of student debt per borrower. The civil rights community calls on the Biden-Harris administration to provide immediate cancellation based on the below principles which will ensure equitable relief for all student borrowers.

1. Debt cancellation must extend to all student loan borrowers.
2. Debt cancellation must not be limited based on the sector of institution attended.
3. The debt cancellation process must be easy and accessible.
4. Debt cancellation must not have negative credit implication.
5. Debt cancellation should be paired with policies to increase meaningful access and affordability in our higher education system.

Progressive activists and lawmakers have criticized the Biden administration for their lack of response to canceling student loan debt.