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.

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@Deglassco @[email protected] @BlackMastodon

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.

@stevewfolds Good point. Everywhere the highways and their noise ran through poor and black neighborhoods.
@Deglassco Rented an apartment in Stamford CT 50 years ago, had just joined Carpenters Union. It was a lone street of elderly Italians in a Black area. The neighborhood is more diverse now. Landlord (a lawyer) was apoplectic when I told him that I planned to sublet to a Black AT&T phone guy that I’d met.
Ghetto, golf club and hedge funds within 1,000 yards still today.
@stevewfolds sadly, this happened all over the country and it continues to happen.