The GI Bill is often credited with enabling WWII vets to get the education they needed to help secure a better life. But as Mississippi State University history professor Joseph Thompson recounts, the distribution of the GI Bill’s education benefits was designed in such a way that reflected the segregationist beliefs of the day. Thompson argues that the racist way in which those education benefits were doled out hold important lessons for how racism can affect veterans on the higher education landscape today.

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Black servicemen from WWII faced limited options and denial as they sought GI benefits after the war. National Archives

GI Bill opened doors to college for many vets, but politicians created a separate one for blacks

Joseph Thompson, Mississippi State University

Although the GI Bill enabled generations of former service members to acquire higher education and enter the middle class, the bill's benefits were distributed in ways that create uneven outcomes.

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Ronit Y. Stahl

University of California, Berkeley

Ronit Y. Stahl
 
 
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