CLEVELAND HEIGHTS — In September 2024, I reported on Forest Hill Church Presbyterian in Cleveland Heights launching an Educational Equity Program to help Black women in the city eliminate college debt.
Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m., the church will honor Natasha Lovelace, the inaugural recipient of the debt forgiveness program.
It's all the result of the church's Racial Repair Restoration Task Force taking a deep dive into history, looking at segregation, Jim Crow, and other inequities that have impacted generations in the city.
Task force members said the church was making a commitment to being intentional about racial equity in all parts of its faith community.
Watch more about the program below:
RELATED: Cleveland Heights Church working to help Black women eliminate college debt
Inaugural recipient's educational journey
Becoming the first to graduate from college in her family was one of Lovelace’s goals, even after life took a turn.
“I had a baby, my first child at 16, Makayla,” Lovelace said. “And because of that, when I graduated high school, I wanted to be responsible and go to college."
A start at Kent State University lasted just one semester.
“There wasn't really support for young parents going to college there,” Lovelace said. “There wasn’t living facilities, so I was driving back and forth from Cleveland to Kent, and it was a lot. It was very difficult.”
Lovelace pressed on and joined the U.S. Army.
“It's one of the biggest gifts that I guess I gave myself,” Lovelace said. “There was a community of people, a family, that I grew to know. I really learned a lot of life skills.”
Lovelace eventually enrolled at Cleveland State University. It took eight years, but in 2018, Lovelace accomplished her goal of graduating from college. She earned her bachelor's degree in sociology. But tens of thousands of dollars in student loans were racked up along the way.
“You have these passions and you have something you feel is your ministry, right? And you just are constantly battling with, ‘Is it worth it? What is the value to you?’” Lovelace said. “There’s so many people like me.”
Church wants to help families build generational wealth
I asked Quentin Smith and Mark Chupp, members of the church’s Racial Repair Restoration Task Force, what the church’s Educational Equity Program means for the church and the broader community.
“I think there's a recognition that the human rights, civil rights struggle is now moved to addressing economic disparity,” Smith said. “It’s no longer about desegregating bathrooms and lunchrooms. Rather, it's about appreciating that those struggles… successful, but it never addressed the economic disparity among the oppressed, the marginalized, and particularly Black people.”
Chupp said the church is not backing down from supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
"I think this is an opportunity to put our faith in action,” Chupp said.
Smith and Chupp noted that Black women, even those with college degrees, earn less than most groups. A study from the Pew Research Center shows Black women face the largest gender wage gap alongside Hispanic women.
Smith said Lovelace has about $66,000 in undergraduate debt, and the church plans to pay half of it this year and the remainder next year.
He said the church sees it as a way to help build generational wealth. Lovelace hopes the financial freedom opens the door to homeownership.
Smith said, “We hope that this is a pebble thrown into a pond that ripples. (That) people appreciate what this church has done and decide to do one of two things: Join with the church and participate in the racial repair program or create one of their own. The idea is we should not stop here. It should grow.”
What made Lovelace stand out?
Lovelace was one of 21 applicants.
The Army veteran, single mom of three, and social services worker quickly became the frontrunner.
“Because of her commitment to be in the community, to make a difference, and the kind of hardship she's gone through and how she's been persistent in overcoming that,” Chupp said.
A devastating incident occurs
In the summer of 2021, Lovelace was still chipping away at growing student loans. She was working and going to school for a master’s degree in psychology. Life then took another turn, forcing everything to pause.
"The baby I was just talking about, Makayla, was 17. She was on her way to work. She had two jobs that summer,” Lovelace said. “She was struck by a stray bullet in the head and went through her windshield and hit her in the head."
News 5 didn’t know until the interview at the church that our team had done stories with Makayla and her mom before and after the shooting.
The first time our team met them was for a story about navigating school during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our team met them again after Makayla’s miraculous recovery. Mikayla had four brain surgeries and had to learn how to walk and talk.
Lovelace said she thanks God for the police officer who took her daughter to the hospital after the shooting and the medical teams.
“I just always have to give blessings to them because she wouldn't be here today if it weren't for them,” Lovelace said.
While her daughter’s shooter has never been caught, Lovelace has devoted her heart and time to making the community a better, safer place.
Watch more about Mikayla below:
RELATED: Cleveland teen caught in the crossfire calls for an end to gun violence
Lovelace reflects on the church's gift
I asked Lovelace what it means to receive the church’s gift of college debt elimination.
“There's still that community here. There's still that hope. Just another light to show that there is love, you know, and my work isn't gone unseen,” Lovelace said. “It takes a lot living here… and experiencing a lot of the violence… financial disparities. So, when someone sees you for what you are… celebrate you… especially when it’s connected to disparities and difficulties… helps me just feel loved. Helps me move forward and keep going.”
The church said it plans to completely pay off Lovelace’s college debt before picking another recipient for its Educational Equity Program.
