January 2016

The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill) provided veterans with college tuition, low-interest home loans, and business loans. Implementation was delegated to local officials and institutions, which systematically excluded Black veterans: Black veterans were denied low-interest VA home loans through redlined neighborhoods; most HBCUs lacked capacity for all eligible Black veterans while white universities refused to enroll them; vocational training programs placed Black veterans in lower-wage occupations. Of the first 67,000 mortgages issued in New York and New Jersey under the GI Bill, fewer than 100 went to Black veterans. This wealth-building program, estimated to have generated trillions in wealth over generations, largely bypassed Black families.

The 1944 GI Bill provided veterans with college tuition, home loans, and business loans, but implementation was delegated to local officials who systematically excluded Black veterans. Of the first 67,000 mortgages issued in New York and New Jersey under the GI Bill, fewer than 100 went to Black veterans. This wealth-building program, estimated to have generated trillions in wealth over generations, largely bypassed Black families.

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, signed by President Clinton, provided $9.7 billion for prison construction, added mandatory minimum sentences, and expanded the federal death penalty. Black community leaders had been divided on the bill, with some supporting it due to crime's impact on Black communities. By 2016, the prison population had grown 75% since the bill passed; critics including Michelle Alexander (The New Jim Crow, 2010) documented the bill's contribution to mass incarceration. In the 2016 and 2020 campaigns, candidates including Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden faced scrutiny over the bill's racial impact. Biden later expressed regret.