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Jim Clyburn introduces bill that would insure African American World War II veterans get benefits of GI Bill
Matthew Christian
13 hrs ago
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In this photo provided by the U.S. Army Women's Museum, members of the 6888th battalion stand in formation in Birmingham, England, in 1945. The Women's Army Corps battalion made history as the only all-female Black unit to serve in Europe during World War II.
U.S. Army Women's Museum via AP, File
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Matthew Christian
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn is looking to make sure that African American World War II veterans and their descendants get the benefits they are entitled to under the GI bill.
Clyburn, a Democrat representing South Carolina's Sixth Congressional District, which includes but is not limited to Lake City and Williamsburg County, and Congressman Seth Moulton from Massachusetts introduced the Sgt. Isaac Woodard Jr. and Sgt. Joseph H. Maddox GI Bill Restoration Act of 2021.
“I was a young student when President Truman integrated the Armed Services in response to the blinding of Isaac Woodard, and that stuck with me throughout my life," Clyburn said in a media advisory. "We must rectify what happened not only to Sgt. Woodard, but to all the Black World War II veterans who were treated unjustly when they returned home from serving their country and denied their GI Bill benefits. We all know that the quickest way to build wealth is through education and homeownership. So many Black families were denied this path to the middle class. It is important to acknowledge this injustice and help address the wealth gap that was exacerbated by the government’s failure to fulfill this promise to World War II veterans of color.”
Sgt. Isaac Woodard Jr. was traveling home by bus to Winnsboro, still wearing his uniform after being honorably discharged, when a small-town police chief forcibly removed him from the bus and blinded him with his nightstick. The police chief was acquitted of the crime by an all-white jury, but Sgt. Woodard’s horrific abuse prompted President Harry Truman to sign an executive order integrating the armed services.
After being injured during his service and medically discharged, Sgt. Joseph Maddox, a World War II-era veteran, applied and was accepted to Harvard University for a master’s degree program. He sought benefits from his local office to help with the tuition and was denied payment to “avoid setting a precedent.” After he sought assistance from the NAACP, the Veterans Administration in Washington ultimately promised to get Maddox the educational benefits he deserved.
Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia is set to introduce a companion bill in the Senate.
The GI Bill is officially known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. It provided a range of benefits to returning veterans of World War II, including guaranteeing low-cost mortgages and low-interest loans to start a business or farm, unemployment compensation, and education assistance but African Americans weren't able to access some of the mortgage benefits because the Veterans Administration used the segregated standards of the Federal Housing Administration.
What does the bill do?
The bill: