Morehouse College, an Atlanta-based all-male historically Black college, and the Debt Collective, a national union for debtors, have announced a collaborative effort to eliminate nearly $10 million worth of student debt to the school.

Through the collaboration, the college transferred $9.7 million of account balances remaining in collections through the fall 2022 term to the Debt Collective’s sister organization, the Rolling Jubilee Fund, for $125,000. With Morehouse’s blessing, the Debt Collective then extinguished the entire balance, eliminating 2,777 accounts and cancelling the debts. Last year, the Debt Collective erased nearly $2 million of debt held by students who attended Bennett College, a small liberal arts college for Black women in Greensboro, North Carolina.

This collaboration is not the cancellation of federal student loan debt, but rather debts owed directly to Morehouse College. The Debt Collective cannot purchase federal student loan debt because they are owned by the federal government.

“Our nation is defaulting on the promise of education when we burden communities, especially Black HBCU graduates, with crushing amounts of student debt,” said Debt Collective spokesperson Braxton Brewington. “This nearly $10 million of student debt cancellation will put thousands of Black folks in a better position to be able to save for retirement, purchase a home, or start a small business....Forty-five million Americans need this relief.”

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