College and university students have already begun venturing home or offline for their designated quarterly breaks. Those breaks were
crucial for me.
I started my higher-education journey as a Junior College student at Riverside City College. I remember knocking on my mothers bedroom door every Tuesday and Thursday to ask for gas money to get to school. As a board member of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, I am proud to talk about our
Student Solidarity Fund. Apply now. The Student Solidarity Fund will provide half a million dollars of financial support to hundreds of current and former Black students, in addition to programming that's helping to advance our community toward a world of meaningful relationships and liberation.
This is all very personal to me. My mother, who also attended the same junior college as myself, was the sole provider of my family for many years due to my fathers incarceration.
I remember naively believing my options from the start were limited to where I believed my resources could take me. With no one in my immediate family having gone through the traditional college application process, upon returning from high school spring break, I began scrambling to apply to any school that would consider me for late registration as my classmates tore into their acceptance letters.
Although well intentioned, my family and I never had the "so where do you want to go to school?" conversation that typically comes with high school juniors and seniors. It was made abundantly clear there were no additional savings for books, a dorm, and or tuition.
At eighteen, I was determined to define my own future. I was motivated and ready to change the system that convinced me a good education was designed for the few who could afford it. While my FAFSA took quite some time to complete, the reality of how far that aid reached was another hurdle to overcome.
But still, as a student and recent graduate, I didn't quit -- even though I had many moments (like looking at Sallie Mae notices, that made me question whether the system I was a part of was truly set up for me to educate myself -- if it could help me create a stable economic future for my family and me -- or if I was another hamster in the wheel.) After all, my mother dedicated her life to her children, and I dedicated my life to graduating from a university.
I believe that those years of dedication, juggling being a full-time student and a full-time employee, prepared me for the hard work I do today.
Being a first-generation college graduate, I understand the burden of student debt and how our broken higher education system refuses to center historical discrimination and the experiences of Black people navigating an unequal society. More resources are needed for Black scholars seeking to further their education. The Student Solidarity Fund is a start to barrier reduction; however, we as a Foundation continue to call on elected leaders across the country to cancel ALL student debt and put a permanent pause on loan repayments.
While America remains one of the most-educated nations, I have seen first-hand the damaging effects of student debt. From forbearance to only being able to make payments towards the interest of the loan, many students like myself came to college in pursuit of "even-ing the playing field". I, as many of you, could not free myself of the financial realities that dictated the pace of when I would be able to finish.
Once I transferred to Cal State LA, I learned about civic movements that brought about legislative change and social impact. I finally had the language to express my beliefs, and I was eager to go out into the world and apply what I had been taught. One problem stood in my way — how could I repay the loans while searching for work? That is why the Student Solidarity Fund is such a great initiative.
Unemployment rates are on the rise, the Black-white wage and wealth gap is getting worse, Black communities' indebtedness is increasing, and the value of a four year degree is being questioned. Given this sobering reality, I believe it is our civic duty to ensure Black people who have committed themselves to the pursuit of a better life through education are supported.
I remain committed to manifesting an abolitionist world where Black people can thrive -- including economically.
Together, with your support and voice, we can (and should!) get in some GOOD TROUBLE. From training as a field organizer and mastering the tools that my professors reminded me I had all along, I am a proud graduate. It's been a few years since my schedule consisted of classes and papers, but there's one thing that has remained constant: the need for the cancellation of ALL student debt.
Will you join me in this fight by sharing your student debt story? Together we win.
D'Zhane Parker
Treasurer
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation
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