In her latest partnership with Experian, LSU Tigers star Flau’jae Johnson has taken on the challenge of relieving consumer debt for thousands of African-American families in Louisiana.
The 21-year-old told the Florida Courier that she has been working with Experian for quite some time now. “This is really going to help change lives because debt can really hold people back. They’re just fighting to survive instead of learning how to build more finances,” she stated.
Experian’s recently launched program will relieve $5 million in consumer debt for 5,000 households in Louisiana, one of the states with the greatest percentage of poverty.
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The state has one of the highest rates of unbanked people in the nation (8.1%), and 50% of African Americans over the age of 18 are “very/fairly worried” about paying off their debt, according to the credit agency.
Additionally, roughly 1 in 4 African American adults have had their mortgage applications rejected, and 52% of them said they are trying to restore their credit.
The project carried out in collaboration with ForgiveCo, a public benefit company (PBC), aims to lighten the financial burden of persons in debt.
For each game LSU wins in the college basketball tournament, Experian will contribute $100,000 in further debt relief, up to a total of $500,000.
Johnson stated, “Helping it aligns with the tournament, the more games we win, that’ll be 100K more that we’re adding into the pot. Coming to the Louisiana community and trying to help is what I want to do because they poured into me, and they kind of adopted me since I came here.”
There is more to the initiative than debt cancellation.
It’s also about giving people the tools they need to manage their finances. The recipients will be given a free one-year premium membership to Experian, which provides access to financial services such as credit monitoring, FICO Scores, and credit reports.
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Johnson admitted that she didn’t know much about finance going into college. “I came into college with NIL, and we get paid all these dollars. Thankfully, I had a mom that was into her finances, but everybody doesn’t have that. So, it’s just kind of taking that initiative to do it yourself and learn.”
Johnson believes that this collaboration and her platform will inspire more young people to take financial literacy seriously.
“I’m the type of person who says, put your money where your mouth is,” she said. “If you really want to help, do that. And that’s what they’re doing. Five million dollars is a lot of money, and 5,000 families—that’s a lot of people. This is just the start.”
A rapper and a basketball star, Johnson has huge plans on and off the court. She is aware that every victory means more relief for Louisiana households as LSU plays in March Madness.
“No matter what, when we win, we help more people, more families,” she remarked.
“We got six games—first round, second round, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, and the championship. That could be $600,000 extra,” she said recently.
Johnson has learned from her mother and her own experiences the value of financial security, and she never loses sight of it despite her many endeavors.
“Money isn’t everything, but it keeps the world going around,” she said. “You want to protect that, build that, grow that. I see these athletes signing multimillion-dollar deals, and then they go bankrupt. And I’m like, what was the disconnect? Because I don’t want to go that route.”
She advised, “A lot of people don’t know how to use credit. There are so many ways to use credit for what you need, your business and your future. There are so many entrepreneurs in my generation now. If they know how to use credit to be financially successful, that would be one of my tips.”
