Georgia residents react to Supreme Court loan forgiveness decision, NAACP issues call for change

ATLANTA — More than a million Georgians are figuring out what to do hours after the Supreme Court overruled President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program Friday.

It’s the second landmark decision impacting education just two days after the court effectively ended Affirmative Action in colleges.

“Yes, sir. I do have student loans. I’ve been getting those since freshman year,” said Anthony Mitchell.

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Clark Atlanta University Senior Anthony Mitchell said since then, the amount he owes is “I’m looking at $20,000.”

Mitchell said he was happy to hear about President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan, “I was happy. I was ecstatic. You know, knowing I have $20,000 and knowing that that loan would get wiped away.”

But Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, which would have canceled $430 Billion of student loan debt.

Jeron Draine graduated from Valdosta State University in 2015. He’s still paying on his loans. “I already started paying on my student loans. I have roughly like $7,000 left.”

Draine also was excited about the possibility of having his loans wiped clean, but he’s now facing his reality, “With inflation, with everything getting higher and higher these days. Even the price of groceries, you know we’re at a time when many people are hurting and don’t have the money to pay for a student loan.”

But others have mixed feelings about the decision.

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“Adults need to make decisions about their life and understand that these things cost money and there are debts you have to pay, and it’s not for the rest of society’s job to pay those debts,” said GSU Graduate Jason Jarrett, a GSU Graduate.

“So it would have been nice to have been relieved from that debt because it’s so expensive then, also too, I feel like I knew what I was getting into myself, so I feel that’s my responsibility,” said East Carolina Graduate Samantha Tilley.

Attorney Gerald Griggs with the Georgia NAACP said this decision is a setback for black students, “Again, today was another devastating decision from the Supreme Court.”

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That’s they’re taking action on Sunday, “The Georgia NAACP and National NAACP will be proactive in our response. Expect to see rallies, expect to see marches, expect to see litigation. All of those are on the table, but right now, we’re calling a State of Emergency in Georgia to make sure that it’s diversity no matter what,” said Griggs.

They will have a virtual statewide meeting on Sunday. They’re asking people to sign the petition to join this call for action.

Griggs said they would meet with each Georgia university and college.

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