GI Bill Systematically Excludes Black Veterans Through Local Administration

The Servicemen's Readjustment Act (GI Bill) of 1944 is facially race-neutral but implemented through local Veterans Administration offices controlled by white administrators, especially in the South. In Mississippi, of the first 3,229 GI Bill home and business loans, only 2 go to Black veterans. Nationwide, banks refuse Black veterans' VA-backed loan applications. Black veterans are steered toward vocational training rather than college benefits. The result: white veterans build wealth through homeownership and education while Black veterans are locked out.