By Charlene Crowell A Janet Jackson hit record once famously asked, “What have you done for me lately?” If that question were ever posed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the answers would reveal an efficient and responsive government agency that has worked tirelessly since becoming the consumers’ financial cop-on-the-beat: As of January 30, 2025, CFPB enforcement ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Sr Natl Correspondent Beginning Nov. 1, federal student loan borrowers will have to resume making payments on their loans for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. And, after the Supreme Court smacked down President Joe Biden’s original loan forgiveness program, the administration is targeting another avenue ...

By Charlene Crowell  On June 30, a long-awaited and consequential Supreme Court decision denied forgiveness that would have erased $430 billion of federal student loan balances for 20 million borrowers and lowered the median amount owed by another 23 million borrowers from $29,400 to $13,600. Instead, the nation’s highest court yielded to six states – ...

By Charlene Crowell Twice as Likely to Owe More Than $50K, Have Decreased Savings In mid-June the Federal Reserve, nation’s central bank, raised interest rates in hopes of curbing rising inflation and deterring a full-blown recession. Chief among its responsibilities, the Fed’s duty is to develop “appropriate monetary policy”. For much of Black America, many ...

20 years of repayments leave Black borrowers still owing 95%  By Charlene Crowell Although the year 2020 has been dominated by continuing news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic’s rising death toll that has now claimed the lives of nearly 300,000 Americans, it is not the only challenge facing the nation. Amid rising unemployment and food ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Sr Nat’l Correspondent President-elect Joe Biden wants to immediately erase student loan debt, a move that could prove more meaningful for African American students who, on average, owe much more than anyone. With the freeze placed on student loan repayments set to end December 31, Biden has gotten behind ...

By Charlene Crowell From its founding in 1909 to today, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has endured as a vital advocacy organization dedicated to freedom and justice for all. From July 20-24, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization’s annual convention met for the 110th time in Detroit’s Cobo Hall. ...

By Charlene Crowell The annual season of college commencements have a unique way of bringing together multiple generations of families in celebration. For the 135th graduating class of Atlanta’s Morehouse College, commencement marked another event that was as unexpected as it was generous. Robert F. Smith, the event’s speaker who is also Chairman and CEO of ...

By Charlene Crowell College students today come in many ages and from many backgrounds. In addition to recent high school graduates, there are laid off workers who need updated skills, and single heads of household returning to school to better provide for their families. Veterans seeking to transition to civilian life are also seeking higher ...

By Charlene Crowell Today’s increasingly competitive global economy requires and recruits those who are highly-skilled and knowledgeable. People understand and accept that higher education is a means to become employable, marketable, and competitive. It is equally true that the rising costs of higher education have now forced 44 million consumers to borrow $1.4 trillion in ...