The GI Bill of Rights
From the inception of the United States, Black soldiers have answered the call to serve on the front lines. And in 1944, the US government created the GI Bill, providing benefits and offerings like job training, loans for school and access to mortgages for soldiers who serve their country.
The bill should have changed the landscape for Black soldiers returning home. However, specific wording in the formal piece of legislature combined with the decision to allow states to regulate the program meant Black people were subjected to the same discrimination and exclusionary practices as years prior. While Black people continue to serve in the armed forces, the effects of the discriminatory practices are still felt and seen to this day.
In this episode of Black History In Two Minutes or So hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. — with additional commentary from Hasan Jeffries of Ohio State University, Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder in Residence- Policylink, and Lawrence Bobo of Harvard University — we will take a look at a bill that was seen as a major education and social mobility investment for soldiers but instead, it turned out to be the opposite for many Black soldiers.
Black History in Two Minutes (or so) is a 4x Webby Award winning series.
If you haven’t already, please review us on Apple Podcasts! It’s a helpful way to for new listeners to discover what we are doing here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/black-history-in-two-minutes/id1466867032
Archival Materials Courtesy of:
• Alamy Images
• Everett Collection, Inc.
• Getty Images
• Library of Congress
• C-SPAN
Additional Archival Material Courtesy of:
• Inkwell Films, Kunhardt & WNET
Executive Producers:
• Robert F. Smith
• Henry Louis Gates Jr.
• Dyllan McGee
• Deon Taylor
Senior Producer:
• William Ventura
Series Producers:
• Chinisha Scott
• William Ventura
Executive in Charge of Production:
• Robert L. Yacyshyn
Post Production Supervisor:
• Veronica Leib
Post Production Coordinator:
• Katherine Swiatek
Written By:
• Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Additional Writing:
• Kevin Burke
• Kelsi Lindus
• Chinisha Scott
• William Ventura
Editors:
• Margaret Metzger
• Anne Yao
Producer:
• Kevin Burke
Archival Producer:
• Megan Graham
Research:
• Zoë Smith
Assistant Editors:
• Patrice Bowman
• Nicholas Mastrangelo
Director of Photography:
• Nikki Bramley
• Nausheen Dadabhoy
• Stephen McCarthy
Graphic Design:
• Anthony Kraus
Special Thanks:
• Daina Ramey Berry
• Sam Hartley
• Elyssa Hess
• Stacey Holman
• Hasan Jeffries
• Peniel Joseph
• Imani Perry
Music By:
• Oovra Music
Be Woke presents is brought to you by Robert F. Smith and Deon Taylor.
Follow Black History in Two Minutes on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/blackhistoryintwominutes/
Follow Black History in Two Minutes on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/blackhistoryintwominutes/
Subscribe to Black History in Two Minutes Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYYNgeK89XFPu-7qUm8edqg
‘Black History in Two Minutes’ is also available on Apple and Google podcasts.
Distributed by https://aone.la
Powered by https://hyperengine.ai