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June 1944

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Oppression
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.

Events

  1. June 22, 1944
    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.

  2. June 22, 1944
    The GI Bill and its unequal benefits

    Landmark veterans' benefits are administered to largely exclude Black servicemen.

Resources from this period