{"id":2480,"date":"2022-09-23T19:53:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T19:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/?p=2480"},"modified":"2026-07-26T19:54:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T19:54:35","slug":"g-i-bill-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/g-i-bill-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"G.I. Bill Benefits Denied to Black Veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Were the G.I. Bill Benefits? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The G.I. Bill Benefits were meant to help support World War II veterans successfully return to civilian life, but Black veterans found it difficult to access their benefits. On June 22, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen\u2019s Readjustment Act, aka the GI Bill, to provide a variety of assistance to what is commonly referred to as the Greatest Generation \u2013 the veterans who served during WWII. This assistance would come in the form of home loans, unemployment insurance, and college tuition. What sounded great on paper would unfortunately become a huge player in creating a wealth gap between white families and Black families.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of giving the distribution of funds to the Federal government, Mississippi Congressman and Chairman of the House Veterans Committee John Rankin fought for the disbursement to have state oversight, which created an avenue for Jim Crow segregation to continue.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It didn&#8217;t matter how heroic these veterans were, the color of their skin often influenced whether they had access to their benefits or not &#8211; even for the <a href=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/tuskegee-airmen\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1976\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tuskegee Airmen.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">G.I. Bill Benefits Denied for College <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Colleges remained segregated and <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6126195\/black-veterans-gi-bill-world-war-two\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">would not accept Black students<\/a>. Vocational schools had a higher acceptance rate, but were so underfunded they could not provide the same level of academic rigor, so the students were underprepared for work and had more troubles finding employment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">G.I. Bill Benefits Denied for Housing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Southern segregation laws limiting housing to Black families were allowed to stand, which meant that owning a home \u2013 a traditionally accepted way to increase your wealth \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/g-i-bill-revival-black-veterans-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">was not available to many Black veterans<\/a>. The VA only cosigned on mortgage loans, so banks were still able to deny mortgages to Black veterans, or only allow them to purchase homes in areas with lower value than their white counterparts. This process is called redlining, which according to Cornell Law School is defined as \u201csystematic denial of services such as mortgages, insurance loans, and other financial services to residents of certain areas, based on their race or ethnicity.\u201d This prevented Black families from buying the homes they wanted to, simply because they were in \u201cwhite neighborhoods.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This choice created a leap in the wealth gap. Home values in white neighborhoods continued to grow, while Black families were relegated to only homes in &#8220;lower&#8221; neighborhoods where home values did not grow at the same rate. Because home ownership is a traditionally American way to build wealth, Black veterans were denied the ability to grow wealth (or financial stability) at the same rate as white veterans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">G.I. Bill Benefits to be Restored<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On November 5, 2021, Seth Moulton (D-MA) sponsored <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/house-bill\/5905?s=1&amp;r=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">H.R. 5905<\/a>, the Sgt. Isaac Woodard, Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2021, to offer enforcement of the GI Bill benefits to the surviving veterans, spouses, and their children. As of July 2026, this bill has not even yet passed the House. It is clear that restoring benefits to Black veterans and their families is not a priority of the majority of the members of the Legislative branch of the government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, the longer these benefits go unrecognized, the longer Black veterans and their families are unable to have access to home ownership or education to train them for the employment they desire. The G.I. Bill benefits going unrecognized continues to perpetuate the systemic racism from their initial introduction. Fighting for all Black World War II veterans and their families to have the benefits owed to them is a meaningful step in <a href=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/topics__trashed\/anti-racism-education-resources\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"866\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">becoming anti-racist<\/a> and correcting systemic racism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Note: The Radical Agenda believes in supporting independent bookstores over big box stores, so we share book links using Bookshop.org. Click on the picture to order your copy of the books that catch your eye, and thank you for supporting small businesses around the country!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/lists\/g-i-bill-benefits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here for the full book list.<\/a><br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:30% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/95864\/9781324051084\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/affirmative-action-was-white.jpg\" alt=\"a teal cover with the title in black words &quot;when affirmative action was white: an untold history of racial inequality in twentieth-century America&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-2485 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/affirmative-action-was-white.jpg 600w, https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/affirmative-action-was-white-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/affirmative-action-was-white-150x225.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Affirmative Action was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:auto 30%\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Half American: The Heroic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad by Matthew F. Delmont<\/h3>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"903\" src=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/half-american.jpg\" alt=\"the cover shows a black and white photo of Black members of the military gathered around the table with a smoky orange background\" class=\"wp-image-2486 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/half-american.jpg 600w, https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/half-american-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/half-american-150x226.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:30% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/95864\/9780813108223\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/taps-for-a-jim-crow-army.jpg\" alt=\"The book cover is a simple white background. In red and black letters it says &quot;Taps for a Jim Crow Army: Letters from Black Soldiers in World War II&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-2487 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/taps-for-a-jim-crow-army.jpg 267w, https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/taps-for-a-jim-crow-army-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/taps-for-a-jim-crow-army-150x225.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Taps for a Jim Crow Army: Letters from Black Soldiers in World War II edited by Phillip McGuire<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:auto 30%\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Red Tails: The Tuskegee Airmen and the War They Had to Win Twice by Gary Mitchell <\/h3>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/red-tails.jpg\" alt=\"The book cover shows a group of Tuskegee Airmen posing together for a photo, while one of the airplanes they flew hovers overhead\" class=\"wp-image-2488 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/red-tails.jpg 600w, https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/red-tails-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/red-tails-150x225.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.myshopify.com\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Were the G.I. Bill Benefits? The G.I. Bill Benefits were meant to help support World War II veterans successfully return to civilian life, but Black veterans found it difficult to access their benefits. On June 22, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen\u2019s Readjustment Act, aka the GI Bill, to provide a variety&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-about-black-history","category-racism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2480"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2490,"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480\/revisions\/2490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theradicalagenda.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}