Rising costs and stagnant wages have pushed affordability to a crisis point for working families in 2026. Charlene Crowell, a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending, argues that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign foresaw these challenges and that its call for economic justice remains urgently relevant today.
Author Archives: Charlene Crowell
Special to the AFRO
Posted inOpinion
Don’t let predatory debt traps rob the holiday season’s joy
Charlene Crowell, a senior fellow at the Center for Responsible Lending, warns that app-based payday lending products such as Buy Now, Pay Later and Earned Wage Access trap financially vulnerable consumers in cycles of debt, especially during the holiday season and following the government shutdown.
Posted inOpinion
A brutal – not beautiful bill – cuts consumer protection funding in half
Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. This week she warns that the newly passed budget bill slashes consumer protection and student loan support, threatening financial stability for millions while benefiting the wealthy.
Posted inEducation
Pell Grants at peril: 7 million recipients face $9 billion program cut
Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. In this piece, she examines how a House-passed FY 2026 budget proposal that cuts $9 billion from Pell Grant funding, threatens access to higher education for millions of low-income students by reducing grant amounts, tightening eligibility, and disproportionately impacting adult learners and students of color.
Posted inPOLITICS
FY 2026 budget plan cuts and guts education dollars and programs
In its first 100 days, the 47th president’s administration has cut or planned to cut over 250,000 federal jobs, including major reductions at the Department of Education, signaling an intent to dismantle the agency and slash funding for key programs that support low-income and student-parent populations, especially affecting Black college students.
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Cuts to Minority Business Development Agency leaves 3 staff
A recent executive order aimed at reducing government functions has significantly cut staffing and funding for key federal programs like the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, despite their proven success in fostering minority-owned businesses and revitalizing underserved communities. Critics, including bipartisan senators and Rep. Maxine Waters, argue these cuts undermine economic equity and squander public-private models that yield substantial returns and job creation.
Posted inBUSINESS
A loan shark in your pocket: Cellphone payday loan apps leave many consumers worse off
Predatory earned wage advance (EWA) apps are trapping low-income workers in cycles of high-interest debt, with borrowers often reborrowing at rates equivalent to 300 percent APR or more. Consumer advocates and regulators warn that without stronger financial protections, these apps will continue to exploit vulnerable Americans, deepening financial insecurity rather than alleviating it.
Posted inNational News
New research shows Black families have one-eighth of the wealth held by White family units
By Charlene Crowell,Center for Responsible Lending While the 1963 March on Washington brought more than 200,000 Americans to the nation’s capital in a historic call for jobs and economic justice, an event billed as a ‘continuation’ – not a commemoration – will take place August 26 at the Lincoln Memorial. Co-sponsored by the National Action […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
First judgment against a non bank lender for redlining set at $22 million
Trident Mortgage ordered to pay for racist lending practices By Charlene Crowell, The Washington Informer The first-ever judgment against a non-bank lender for engaging in the practice of “redlining” has come down against Trident Mortgage Company (Trident) to the tune of more than $22 million. Trident was targeted by a four-year investigation begun by Pennsylvania’s […]
Posted inHBCU
Advocates still call for student debt forgiveness despite new pause on loan repayments, more money for Pell Grants, HBCUs
By Charlene Crowell, Special to the AFRO In recent days, student loans and other higher education programs have been the focus of multiple initiatives. On April 6, President Biden extended the current pause on federal loan repayment through August 31. That announcement brought an obvious appeal to the 44 million consumers who together owe an […]
Posted inHBCU
Op-ed: Record $1.7 trillion student debt drowns HBCU Borrowers, calls for Loan Forgiveness gain support
By Charlene Crowell As the cost of a college education continues to rise, an estimated 45 million consumers collectively owe a record $1.7 trillion dollars in student debt, according to the Federal Reserve, — a $905 billion increase in just the past decade. For Black America, the struggle to gain a college education is an even more […]
Posted inNEWS
CRL Special: President Biden Signs Bipartisan Bill to Curb Predatory Lending
Illustration depicting a computer screen capture with a payday loans concept. In recent years, consumer finance protections withered through a series of harsh attacks that either outright rejected or significantly diminished financial guard rails in the marketplace. But a new consumer victory, urged by a groundswell of support from everyday people, academicians, and bicameral legislators […]