Lynching in America

Racial discrimination pervaded veterans’ programs, but the effects were particularly
acute in the provision of home loans. Title III of the G.I. Bill made veterans eligible for lowinterest
home loans with no down payment. Very few black veterans benefitted from Title
III because, while the loans were guaranteed by the VA, they required cooperation from
local banks. This meant that veterans first had to convince local banks to lend to them —
which proved a daunting task for black veterans because the overwhelming majority of
banks routinely denied loans to black applicants. 116
Home ownership was the primary driver for post-war economic security and wealth
accumulation, and it spurred the creation and growth of suburban white America. The G.I.
Bill’s failure to provide similar uplift for black veterans and their families was evident from
the start. A survey of 13 Mississippi cities found that African Americans received only 2 of
the 3229 home, business, and farm loans administered by the VA in 1947. The Pittsburgh
Courier charged that “the veterans’ program had completely failed veterans of minority
races.” 117 Once again, black people were excluded from the benefits of military service,
and the hopes of black veterans and their communities were crushed by an unyielding
racism that barred their entry into the middle class.
Former commander of the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters. (U.S. Army.)
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