Changing the Narrative on Student Borrowers of Color

The Report

Changing the Narrative on Student Borrowers of Color

Stark differences by race and ethnicity in student borrowing trends are well known, but real progress depends on setting up a different conversation. This collection explores the complexities of student debt; focuses on systems change and not blaming individuals; puts experts of color at the center; and emphasizes important differences among Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous populations.

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Two-page summary

Tropes vs. Truth

Key takeaways from the report—and from the Borrowers of Color Working Group.

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Policymaking to aid Black borrowers shouldn’t happen without Black experts

Wayne Taliaferro

In an interview with Dominique Baker, I discussed the importance of Black voices in policy dialogues about affordability and student borrowing.

When it comes to borrowers of color, policymakers should explore shades of gray

Wayne Taliaferro, Katherine Wheatle

The last recession consumed the modest wealth of Black and Hispanic communities, further deepening racial wealth divides and burdening college students from these communities with higher loan debt.

The story of Latino borrowers’ academic persistence is missing from the dialogue

Wayne Taliaferro

In an interview with Janette Martinez, a senior policy and research analyst at Excelencia in Education, I discussed the importance of Hispanic voices in policy dialogues about affordability and student borrowing.

Honor the treaties: Deliver on promises to educate Native Americans

Katherine Wheatle

In an interview with Amanda R. Tachine and J.D. Lopez, I discussed the importance of Native American voices in policy dialogues about affordability and student borrowing.

Webinar

(Re)Thinking Black Student Debt

In 2017, data from the U.S. Department of Education revealed that half of Black borrowers default on their student loans within 12 years of enrollment, and more recent data reveal that these trends have continued. Even as the issue of college affordability and student debt has become central to public policy discourse, the necessary companion conversation about the effect of endemic structural racism on inequitable student outcomes has been less robust.

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