Speaker 1: Right now, it is time for the way Black History Fact.
Speaker 1: In today's way Black History Fact comes from history dot Com.
Speaker 1: I'll share a bit. When Eugene Burnett saw the neat
Speaker 1: tracked houses of Levittown, New York, he knew he wanted
Speaker 1: to buy one. It was nineteen forty nine, and he
Speaker 1: was ready to settle down in a larger home with
Speaker 1: his family. The newly established Long Island suburbs seemed like
Speaker 1: the perfect place to begin their postwar life, one that
Speaker 1: he hoped would be improved with the help of the
Speaker 1: GI Bill, a piece of sweeping legislation aimed at helping
Speaker 1: World War Two veterans like Burnett prosper after the war.
Speaker 1: But when he spoke with the salesman about buying the
Speaker 1: house using a GI Bill guaranteed mortgage, the door to
Speaker 1: suburban life and Levintown slam firmly in his face. The
Speaker 1: suburb wasn't open to black residents. The Burnetts weren't the
Speaker 1: only Black Americans for whom the promise of the GI
Speaker 1: Bill turned out to be an illusion. Though the bill
Speaker 1: helped white Americans prosper and accumulate wealth in the post
Speaker 1: war years, it didn't deliver on that promise for veterans
Speaker 1: of color. In fact, the wide disparity in the bill's
Speaker 1: implementation ended up helping drive growing gaps in wealth, education,
Speaker 1: and civil rights between white and Black Americans. While the
Speaker 1: GI Bill's language did not specifically exclude African American veterans
Speaker 1: from its benefits, it was structured in a way that
Speaker 1: ultimately shut the doors for the one point two million
Speaker 1: black veterans who had bravely served their country during World
Speaker 1: War II and segregated ranks. Again, I want to share
Speaker 1: that this is from History dot com, not Ramses dot com,
Speaker 1: not Q dot com, not CIVI exci fort a, History
Speaker 1: dot com. Right, let me continue. When lawmakers began drafting
Speaker 1: the GI Bill in nineteen forty four, some Southern Democrats
Speaker 1: feared that returning black veterans would use public sympathy for
Speaker 1: veterans to advocate against Jim Crow laws. To make sure
Speaker 1: the GI Bill largely benefited white people, Southern Democrats drew
Speaker 1: on tactics they had previously used to ensure that the
Speaker 1: new deal helped as few black people as possible. From
Speaker 1: the start, black veterans had trouble securing the GI bills
Speaker 1: benefits veterans who did qualify could not find facilities that
Speaker 1: delivered on the bill's promise. Black veterans in a vocational
Speaker 1: training program at segregated high school in Indianapolis were unable
Speaker 1: to participate in activities related to plumbing, electricity, and printing
Speaker 1: because inadequate equipment was only available to white students. Simple
Speaker 1: intimidation kept others from enjoying Gibill benefits. In nineteen forty seven,
Speaker 1: for example, a crowd hurled rocks at black veterans as
Speaker 1: they moved into a Chicago housing development. Thousands of black
Speaker 1: veterans were attacked in the years following World War Two,
Speaker 1: and some were singled out and lynched. Though Mississippi Congressman
Speaker 1: John rankin Hart had lost the battle to exclude black
Speaker 1: men from BA unemployment insurance, it was doled out inequitably.
Speaker 1: Most men who applied for unemployment benefits were kicked out
Speaker 1: of the program if any other work was available to them,
Speaker 1: even work that provided less than subsistence wages. Southern postmasters
Speaker 1: were even accused of refusing to deliver the forms to
Speaker 1: black veterans needed to fill out to receive their unemployment benefits.
Speaker 1: Black veterans and civil rights groups protested their treatment, calling
Speaker 1: for protections like the black involvement in the VA and
Speaker 1: non discriminatory loans, But racial disparities in the implementation of
Speaker 1: the GIBA had already been set into motion. As years
Speaker 1: went on, white veterans flowed into newly created suburbs, where
Speaker 1: they began amassing wealth and skilled positions, but black veterans
Speaker 1: lacked those options. The majority of skilled jobs were given
Speaker 1: to white workers. The housing boom almost entirely excluded Black Americans,
Speaker 1: most of whom remained in cities that received less and
Speaker 1: less investment from businesses and banks. Though the GI Bill
Speaker 1: guaranteed low interest mortgages and other loans, they were not
Speaker 1: administered by the VA itself. Thus the VA could co
Speaker 1: sign but not actually guarantee the loans. This gave white
Speaker 1: run financial institutions free reign to refuse mortgages and loans
Speaker 1: to black people. We now know this as redlining, which
Speaker 1: if you don't know anything about redlining, please look that up.
Speaker 1: But this is what led to that, and then there
Speaker 1: was a mass shift in wealth away from black folks
Speaker 1: after that as well.