This is a word, a podcast from Slate. I'm your host, Jason Johnson. President Biden and

other government officials have pledged to do something to ease the burden of the student

debt crisis. The debt collective actually took action, closing out more than a million

dollars in debt owed by hundreds of students at Bennett College. But the organization says

politicians need to step up and do their part.

Biden and 14 individuals have considered taking their own lives because of a really crushing

debt burden. So we're talking about something that is shaping every waking decision of

people's lives. And the solution is so simple and the problem is so grave. And so I think

that's why we're seeing this sort of grounds well of support right now for people to say,

we really just need to cancel this debt altogether. It just shouldn't exist.

Building a path to solve the student debt crisis, coming up on a word with me, Jason Johnson.

Stay with us.

Welcome to a word, a podcast about race, in politics, and everything else. I'm your

host, Jason Johnson. Education is supposed to be a ladder to success in the US. But in recent

years, it has emerged as a key stepping stone into a lifetime of debt. Americans owe approximately

$1.7 trillion. You heard me 1.7 trillion dollars in student debt more than they owe on credit

cards or car loans. And the burden of that debt falls more heavily on African Americans.

While President Biden has paused student loan payments for the pandemic, efforts at a

permanent or systematic solution seem stalled. That's one reason why the debt collective

and organization that advocates for student and other debt forgiveness stepped up.

It announced last week that it had engineered a way to forgive more than $1 million in student

debt of 500 students at North Carolina's Bennett College. It's a dramatic move, but only

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