Pharrell Pays Off Five Students’ Debts At An NAACP Panel [Photos]

Singer and music producer Pharrell Williams paid off the student loan debt of five NAACP youth leaders Friday.

via: Uproxx

Over the past two years, student debt has become a hot-button issue, in part because of certain campaign promises made by Joe Biden during his successful bid for the Presidency. While conservative commentators have railed against debt forgiveness — mostly to oppose Democrats, despite the policy’s overwhelming popularity among voters — others have taken matters into their own hands. In 2019, Vista Equity founder and billionaire Robert F. Smith paid off the tuition of the entire Morehouse University graduating class. Now, Pharrell Williams, in an attempt to lead by example, has done the same for five student leaders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

During a Friday panel on the student debt crisis for Black scholars at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, DC, Pharrell announced he was paying off all student debt for students of Southern University, Howard, and Florida A&M, as well as alumni of North Carolina AT, and Norfolk State. The panel’s organizer, NAACP National Director of Youth and College Wisdom Cole, said, “Pharrell forever changed their lives. This was a powerful moment. Now just imagine if President Biden made this a reality for all student debt holders in America.”

Meanwhile, NCAAP President and CEO Derrick Johnson posted photos of the youth leaders as they learned of their debt cancelation on Twitter, imploring President Biden, “It’s your turn now to do the same for all Americans plagued by student debt.” Hours later, Pharrell kicked off his Something In The Water Festival, where he’s set to perform with Clipse, Justin Timberlake, SZA, and more.

Priceless. The moment 5 young NAACP leaders learn @Pharrell is cancelling all their student debt.@POTUS, it’s your turn now to do the same for all Americans plagued by student debt. pic.twitter.com/hAQWh0wW0a

— Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) June 17, 2022

Right after @Pharrell surprised young NAACP leaders by paying off ALL their student debt, someone asked “what are you going to do now?”

One student tearfully responded, “I’m going to law school.”

This is what it’s about—unlocking opportunities for those historically oppressed.

— Derrick Johnson (@DerrickNAACP) June 17, 2022

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