Post #720711

2023-07-14 21:59 UTC

The G.I. Bill created the prosperity &amp; 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/ @blackmastodon@a.gup.pe @BlackMastodon@chirp.social #BlackMastodon #Histodons #History

Replies (11)

@Deglassco@mastodon.social 2023-07-14 22:00

In August 1944, two months after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, also known as the GI Bill of Rights, the National Negro Publishers Association warned that despite its race-neutral appearance, the law would exclude Black veterans. 2/ #BlackMastodon #Histodons #History #StillWeRise

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@DeborahForPlus@mas.to 2023-07-14 22:03

@Deglassco @blackmastodon@a.gup.pe @BlackMastodon@chirp.social It's because of this exactly that I make a monthly donation to UNCF and they're in my will. Personal reparations, if you will, because my white father got that WWII GI Bill leg up and it has mattered ever since.

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@ctesta@fediscience.org 2023-07-15 00:16

@Deglassco Thanks for this writeup!

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@Manny@mstdn.party 2023-07-15 01:02

@Deglassco @blackmastodon@a.gup.pe @BlackMastodon@chirp.social That sure looks like The Reverend Al.. 🙂💚🌍💚

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@ModusMatt@zirk.us 2023-07-15 01:35

@Deglassco @blackmastodon@a.gup.pe @BlackMastodon@chirp.social excellent thread. Learned a lot. Loved some of the pics, especially this one

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@murodegrizeco@toad.social 2023-07-15 03:37

@Deglassco Thank you for posting this thread about the racial injustice in the G.I. Bill. This is important history.

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@Wolleysegap@calckey.online 2023-07-15 08:14

@Deglassco@mastodon.social @blackmastodon@a.gup.pe @BlackMastodon@chirp.social This is so bittersweet. Yes, you helped us win the war. No, we can't hire you. Lord have mercy.

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@stevewfolds@mastodon.world 2023-07-15 08:51

@Deglassco @blackmastodon@a.gup.pe @BlackMastodon@chirp.social Wonderful research & writing, thank you. 11 years after WWII the Interstate System was started under Eisenhower. The highways cast racial lines in concrete through nearly every city & remain today. ‘Wrong side of the tracks’, added ‘wrong side of the highway.’ Reflections of walled towns & cities throughout human history.

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@miyelsh@urbanists.social 2023-07-15 11:07

@Deglassco @blackmastodon@a.gup.pe @BlackMastodon@chirp.social phenomenal write up! I have The Color of Law sitting on my shelf, and this really makes me want to pick it up and start reading.

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@PirateJoie@mastodon.social 2023-07-15 12:39

@Deglassco @blackmastodon@a.gup.pe @BlackMastodon@chirp.social Travesty! 🤬

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@RushGirl@stranger.social 2023-07-15 13:00

@Deglassco @blackmastodon@a.gup.pe @BlackMastodon@chirp.social I didn't know this until a few years ago. I'm a beneficiary of the GI Bill because my dad fought in WWII & he benefitted from it. He bought a small house & started our family, was able to go to college to further his career. Mom was stay at home. I think about all the Black kids my age whose own parents endured the same things (or worse) Dad did but were denied that which I took for granted. No wonder the GOP wants to rewrite history. #WokeAFNow

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