The G.I. Bill created the prosperity & laid the groundwork for the American superpower. But the postwar boom stopped at the color line. Black American frustration at discriminatory distribution of G.I. benefits would soon erupt into the modern Civil Rights Movement. These discriminatory practices and systemic barriers faced by Black -American veterans under the G.I. Bill had far-reaching consequences that persist today.
1/
@[email protected] @[email protected] #BlackMastodon #Histodons #History
Intimidation tactics were also employed to deter Black veterans from accessing GI Bill benefits. Instances of violence, such as the rock-throwing incident in Chicago, along with attacks and lynchings targeted at Black veterans, created an atmosphere of fear and hostility.
12/
#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #StillWeRise
Furthermore, there were reports of Southern postmasters refusing to deliver the necessary forms for Black veterans to apply for unemployment benefits.
Despite protests from Black veterans and civil rights groups demanding equal treatment, including Black representation in the VA and non-discriminatory loans, the racial disparities in the implementation of the GI Bill persisted.
13/
#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #StillWeRise
Congressman Rankin’s unsuccessful attempt to exclude Black men from VA unemployment insurance exemplified the inequitable distribution of benefits. Resistance to the discriminatory practices of the GI Bill was observed across the country, from the South to the North.
14/
#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #StillWeRise
Black veterans, like their white counterparts, sought VA-guaranteed low-interest mortgages and loans to establish homes and businesses. Although the GI Bill provided low-interest mortgages and loans, the VA could only cosign, not guarantee them. This allowed white-run financial institutions to freely deny mortgages and loans to Black individuals.
15/
#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #StillWeRise
The majority of Black applicants were rejected by racially biased banks, as observed by the National Urban League. Redlining, a discriminatory practice, further hindered Black veterans from purchasing homes by characterizing them as high-risk borrowers. This meant that most black Americans were confined to underinvested cities.
16/
#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #StillWeRise
In 1947, out of 67,000 mortgages insured by the VA in the New York and northern New Jersey suburbs, less than 100 were granted to nonwhites. Similar disparities existed in Mississippi, where only two out of over 3,200 VA-guaranteed home loans went to Black borrowers.
17/
#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #StillWeRise
The situation was not much better in other regions. Across the country, racial covenants explicitly prohibited returning servicemembers from owning or renting properties in white areas. Black- American families were restricted from purchasing homes through restrictive covenants in suburban neighborhoods.
18/
#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #StillWeRise
Even those Black veterans who managed to secure loans faced organized resistance and violence from white homeowners. As a result, when Black WWII veterans reached the age when wealth typically peaks, the median net worth of their households was significantly lower than that of white households, with a difference of $100,000.
19/
#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #StillWeRise
Consequently, Black veterans were largely excluded from benefiting from the postwar housing boom and the accumulation of property equity, which is a key pathway to generational wealth.
20/
#BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #StillWeRise