By Gabriella Ambroise
I owe approximately $100,000 in loans and I do not know how I will pay this back. I have spent my entire college years dreaming about the endless possibilities after graduation. I wanted to be a doctor, maybe a teacher, perhaps a business owner. The day Trump became president, I thought about switching my major to political science to become a lawyer and possibly run for office one day.
But, I always struggled with paying for college. Most days, I thought I might have to drop out and give up on my dreams. My mom never had the chance to go to college, so I think that I was somehow living my dream for her. My mother supported me any way she could and she would tell me to never stop fighting for my dreams. So, I took out more loans, worked longer hours at minimum-wage jobs, and took on more responsibilities at school.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, Black women are the most educated group in the United States. This means that most student loan borrowers are Black women.
Canceling student loan debt is not a policy choice that takes away responsibility from the student. It’s a policy choice that recognizes the impact that disinvestment in public higher education has had on the children of working-class Americans.
Federally supported Pell grants and financial aid were reduced dramatically in the 2000s and instead working-class students turned to private banks that offered loans with high-interest rates. These banks made money from the dreams of working-class Americans who were told a good job would come after college.
The COVID-19 crisis demonstrated how much we need to invest in the working class instead of the wealthiest 1%. As recent election results have shown us, Democrats need to connect with Black voters and young voters in a meaningful way and provide concrete material relief to the communities most impacted by systemic racial and social inequities.
An investment in young people loaded with debt is an investment in the future of America. It’s an investment that could reverse the racial wealth gap and provide wealth equity opportunities for Black women in the United States.
We stand in a moment of history where we have Kamala Harris, a Black female vice president who has been educated at a Historically Black College and is part of one of the divine nine sororities and fraternities.
For me, this is a moment to rejoice in my full blackness because for the first time ever there was someone who looked like me in the executive branch and there was someone who could relate to my struggle for access to higher education.
If I were to meet the vice president one day, I would ask her to stand with Black women like me and fight for student loan debt relief so that I can have a chance to start my future.
That is why today, as President Biden pushes for investment in his Build Back Better social investment proposal, I call on Congress and Vice President Harris to raise their voices on behalf of an entire generation of young women like me, whose promise of a good-paying job has yet to arrive. The time to act is now.
Gabriella Ambroise is a community organizer at Our Revolution New Jersey and ran as a candidate for Hudson County commissioner in 2020.
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