“This is a problem that has not gone away but has gotten worse in many communities."

A new report from the left-leaning think tank Demos argues that looking at borrowers' income alone provides limited insight into student loan burdens.

”For far too long, Black voters in this country have been marginalized, misrepresented, and taken for granted in electoral politics."

“The gauntlet has been laid. It also reminds us that public policy really does have a role to play. We should take a hard look at why this was needed in the first place.”

“Not only are students of color more likely to borrow more for a degree, and borrow in higher amounts for the same degree, but they’re more likely to struggle to repay student loans than white students."

Eliminating all student debt, per Sanders' plan, would increase the wealth gap between white and black households, according to one 2015 study co-authored by left-leaning think tank Demos.

"The ability to pay off your loans has everything to do with wages and the ability to gain secure employment, it has everything to do with housing affordability, it has everything to do with child-care costs."

This racial disparity is the product of centuries of policies that intentionally excluded and oppressed African Americans.

"White families who did not graduate from high school have the same level of wealth as a black family with a college education. All this has led to a system where black families in particular, but also Latinas, have less wealth to face the challenges when it comes to paying off that debt."

“There was an assumption that the student debt problem was concentrated among those at for-profit colleges or predatory programs. Or it was seen as a problem with repayment and not necessarily with debt itself. That has shifted over the last couple of years.”