"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : CLEVE MORMON

Someone asked a question,"Why is Black Studentloan Debt So High?" When we look at the Studentloan Default numbers for Black students, it's enough to make you want to cry! Well, one online article said that it could be due to the fact that Black People are more likely than other races to enroll in "FOR-PROFIT" colleges & universities, where tuition prices are higher than at public ones. While a different online article stated that it could be because most Black families have fewer financial resources on hand to pay for college expenses.Never-the-less, it's still quite a disturbing amount to say the least.By the way, out of curiosity, I went and looked up the total student loan debt in the United States. It stated that as of March 2024, the total student loan debt in the United States was around "$1.75 TRILLION DOLLARS!" Additionally, it said that anywhere from 37% - 41% of Black American College Students are currently carrying studentloan debt. Furthermore, an online article stated that due to fees and higher interest rates put on Black students, nearly 50% of Black college graduates owe substantially more on their studentloans, only 4 years after graduating from college. Based on those figures, some Black college students and college graduates could possibly have "Almost Grown Children" in college by the time they pay off their current studentloan debt! Now, let's get to this week's Black Pioneer. Cleve Mormon was born in Coldwater, Mississippi. He was the great uncle of a man by the name of Clifton L. Taulbert. I learned about Cleve Mormon from a book written by Clifton L. Taulbert titled,"Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored." It seems that after Cleve was grown, he moved to the town of Glenn Allan, Mississippi, in the late 1940s, early 1950s. Once there, he took an interest in the Ice Business. Therefore, around town, many of the Black People called him," The Iceman." Also, Cleve was the only Negro Ice Merchant in Glenn Allan. Interesting enough, his great nephew, Clifton L. Taulbert wrote another book about his beloved Uncle Cleve.The name of the book is,"Who Owns The Ice House." The book details eight important life lessons for aspiring Entrepreneurs. Personally, I feel that our Black Youth need to hear more information about these old Black Business Pioneers. In closing, A Black female Judge in Shreveport, Louisiana once said to me," Everybody ain't cut out for business." Well. my response to her was,"Everybody ain't cut out for college neither, but that hasn't stopped them from going out getting studentloans and getting into debt to attend college!"