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The Student Debt Crisis: America’s Moral Urgency
The student debt crisis is a civil rights issue, and it's time we start treating it like one.
Based on extensive interviews with students, college administrators, policymakers, and other leaders, The Student Debt Crisis illuminates one of the nation's most urgent and pressing civil rights questions of the last three Who gets to go to college? This book comprehensively examines the history and current state of the student debt crisis in the US. With a focus on the moral imperative of ensuring equal access to higher education, The Student Debt Crisis highlights the disproportionate impact of student debt on Black and brown students, particularly Black women. By delving into the history and practical realities of student debt, higher education journalist Jamal Watson sheds light on the challenges faced by debt-laden college graduates and non-graduates alike.
From the rising number of borrowers defaulting on their loans to the barriers that hinder accessibility for those from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, Watson offers a deeper understanding of the student debt crisis on macro and micro levels. As the spotlight on student debt continues to grow, The Student Debt Crisis is a vital resource for anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of this issue. From policymakers shaping paths of action to families and students navigating educational choices, this book offers essential insights and potential solutions to these pressing challenges.
Based on extensive interviews with students, college administrators, policymakers, and other leaders, The Student Debt Crisis illuminates one of the nation's most urgent and pressing civil rights questions of the last three Who gets to go to college? This book comprehensively examines the history and current state of the student debt crisis in the US. With a focus on the moral imperative of ensuring equal access to higher education, The Student Debt Crisis highlights the disproportionate impact of student debt on Black and brown students, particularly Black women. By delving into the history and practical realities of student debt, higher education journalist Jamal Watson sheds light on the challenges faced by debt-laden college graduates and non-graduates alike.
From the rising number of borrowers defaulting on their loans to the barriers that hinder accessibility for those from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, Watson offers a deeper understanding of the student debt crisis on macro and micro levels. As the spotlight on student debt continues to grow, The Student Debt Crisis is a vital resource for anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of this issue. From policymakers shaping paths of action to families and students navigating educational choices, this book offers essential insights and potential solutions to these pressing challenges.
176 pages, Hardcover
Published September 16, 2025
2 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 15, 2025
“The strength of the US, is not the gold at Fort Knox or the weapons of mass destruction that we have, but the sum total of the education and the character of our people.”
Accessibility to higher education is seen as the most pressing civil right issue in the US. Education has always been sold as a tool of social mobility to the middle class, but unfortunately that doesn’t come cheap. Student debt in the US has risen to over 1.7 Trillion, with the majority held by African Americans. This has been subsidised through scholarships, grants and financial aid, but with the re-election of Donald Trump, who has made it his mission to dismantle the Department of Education this is only going to get worse.
“A higher education should be a right for all, not a privilege for the few.” Watson explores the history of the Pell grant, how Black colleges originated so students would no longer be turned away, how first generation students weren’t supported enough when looking at financing options and may have buried themselves in debt, how the cost of education has changed the workforce, how the pandemic highlighted the widening economic disparities that exist, how the “Republican” Supreme Court responded to solutions and finally how other countries compare.
As someone that isn’t ready to leave education and further learning just yet, I would be devastated to be bound and suffocated by this society. As I see Trump make his moves I can only imagine how this generation of students will suffer, be further indebted or choose not to go college/university.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Jamal Watson and Broadleaf Books for this early release copy. Student Debt Crisis is available from Sep 16th.
Accessibility to higher education is seen as the most pressing civil right issue in the US. Education has always been sold as a tool of social mobility to the middle class, but unfortunately that doesn’t come cheap. Student debt in the US has risen to over 1.7 Trillion, with the majority held by African Americans. This has been subsidised through scholarships, grants and financial aid, but with the re-election of Donald Trump, who has made it his mission to dismantle the Department of Education this is only going to get worse.
“A higher education should be a right for all, not a privilege for the few.” Watson explores the history of the Pell grant, how Black colleges originated so students would no longer be turned away, how first generation students weren’t supported enough when looking at financing options and may have buried themselves in debt, how the cost of education has changed the workforce, how the pandemic highlighted the widening economic disparities that exist, how the “Republican” Supreme Court responded to solutions and finally how other countries compare.
As someone that isn’t ready to leave education and further learning just yet, I would be devastated to be bound and suffocated by this society. As I see Trump make his moves I can only imagine how this generation of students will suffer, be further indebted or choose not to go college/university.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Jamal Watson and Broadleaf Books for this early release copy. Student Debt Crisis is available from Sep 16th.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2025
I enjoyed reading the foreword and ✍️ wrote notes in my book 📖.
Early in the reading, it was on point about PSFL SAVE under the Biden administration but sadly I was not one my student loans forgiven. I am reading as someone who has borrowed for grad degree and only loans offered, yet living expenses were difficult as undergrad as indicated without any govt assistance such as SNAP or food stamps unless dependents.
As a senior librarian, I also want to see how it helps students or patrons.
Contest win.
Adrienna Turner
Author of God is in the equation
Library Thing review
hard cover
4.5 stars
Early in the reading, it was on point about PSFL SAVE under the Biden administration but sadly I was not one my student loans forgiven. I am reading as someone who has borrowed for grad degree and only loans offered, yet living expenses were difficult as undergrad as indicated without any govt assistance such as SNAP or food stamps unless dependents.
As a senior librarian, I also want to see how it helps students or patrons.
Contest win.
Adrienna Turner
Author of God is in the equation
Library Thing review
hard cover
4.5 stars
October 4, 2025
I benefitted from significant usage of Pell Grants while in Community College, helping me get early credits and on my way to an undergraduate and graduate degree which I later self-financed with student loans that I am still paying off. This slim, readable volume with several such personal stories told in greater detail shares a lot of data like that from Education Data Initiative:
Free is an option that seems like "pie in the sky", but a case is made that it works in other First World countries and that broadening the opportunity of higher education would benefit the entire nation.
(The "GI Bill" is examined as an experiment in this direction.)
Highlighting years of effort and struggle largely around HBCU, injustices against Black American in exclusion and predatory lending are examined and include cogent remarks from Senators Sanders and Warren on the American experiment in debt-financed education.
Over the past few decades, the cost of higher education has skyrocketed, outpacing inflation and wage growth. The numbers are both startling and alarming. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, between 1980 and 2020, the average tuition at public four-year institutions increased by 169 percent after adjusting for inflation. This dramatic rise has shifted much of the financial burden onto students and their families. One key factor contributing to rising costs is the steady decline in state funding for public universities.
Free is an option that seems like "pie in the sky", but a case is made that it works in other First World countries and that broadening the opportunity of higher education would benefit the entire nation.
Another key argument for free college is that it represents a crucial investment in the nation's human capital and long-term economic competitiveness. In an increasingly knowledge-based economy, a more educated workforce is essential for economic growth and innovation. Free college could help ensure that the US has the skilled workers needed to compete in the global economy. By making higher education more accessible, free college could enhance social mobility, allowing more individuals to move up the economic ladder and contribute to overall economic growth. In a rapidly changing job market, the ability to retrain and acquire new skills throughout one's career is increasingly important. Free college could make it easier for adults to return to school and adapt to changing economic conditions...
Many advocates of free college argue that it would represent a return to the idea of higher education as a public good rather than a private commodity. Proponents often point to the success of previous initiatives like the GI Bill and the historically low tuition at many public universities as evidence that free or low-cost higher education is both possible and beneficial..
(The "GI Bill" is examined as an experiment in this direction.)
Highlighting years of effort and struggle largely around HBCU, injustices against Black American in exclusion and predatory lending are examined and include cogent remarks from Senators Sanders and Warren on the American experiment in debt-financed education.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews