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

Thanks my friend SSG Robert Mark Odom for posting the perspective of an unnamed editor/writer for The Conversation
As usual I do research before to a subject I am not well-familiar with. First I used links from the actual article.

BLUF. racism was distributed around the nation in the 1940's and 1950's. This was not an issue with Congress and State governments. Primarily it was an issues with "everybody" independent of color, creed, etc.
My parents were British citizens who were legal aliens in this nation. They raised me and my younger sisters to treat everybody with respect and not consider color, social status, etc. or any other characteristic for preferential treatment or the opposite.
I experienced racism in the 1970's [Philadelphia] through 21st century [Columbus, Georgia]

1. The article states "That’s because white southern politicians designed the distribution of benefits under the GI Bill to uphold their segregationist beliefs."
a. The main features were designed by the American Legion and the bill passed both the U.S. House and Senate unanimously. If the premise is true that means every senator and Congressman in this nation was biased not merely Southern Democrats [party that supported slavery through the Civil War and hampered reconstruction efforts,etc.
From ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=76
"The American Legion designed the main features of what became the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act and pushed it through Congress. The bill unanimously passed both chambers of Congress in the spring of 1944. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law on June 22, 1944, just days after the D-day invasion of Normandy."

2. Prejudice was directed against enlisted soldiers in general independent of race. Before WWII, College was primarily composed of institutions which were expensive and limited to the wealthy in many cases. There was concern that an influx of new students at colleges would overburden the collage/universities. By 1947 the colleges were overcrowded and Quonset hits and other prefabricated buildings were used to provide additional classroom space. Since it was atop down process that took time.
Background from legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Servicemen's+Readjustment+Act+of+1944
"Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944
The first GI Bill was proposed and drafted by the American Legion, led by former Illinois governor John Stelle, during World War II. The public remembered a post-World War I recession, when millions of veterans returned to face unemployment and homelessness. Twice as many veterans would return from World War II, and widespread economic hardship was a real concern. A healthy postwar economy, it seemed, would depend on providing soldiers with a means to support themselves once they were back home.
Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst became the bill's most ardent and vocal supporter. Hearst and his nationwide string of newspapers lobbied the public and members of Congress to support those who served their country, and his effort was a success. The bill unanimously passed both chambers of Congress in the spring of 1944. President franklin d. roosevelt signed the bill into law on June 22, 1944, just days after the D-Day invasion of Normandy (Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, ch. 268, 58 Stat. 284).
The original GI Bill offered veterans up to $500 a year for college tuition and other educational costs—ample funding at the time. An unmarried veteran also received a $50-a-month allowance for each month spent in uniform; a married veteran received slightly more. Other benefits included mortgage subsidies, enabling veterans to purchase homes with relative ease.
Despite initial misgivings over its success, the GI Bill proved to be enormously effective. Prior to its passage, detractors feared that paying the education expenses of veterans would lead to overcrowding at colleges, which before World War II were accessible predominantly to members of society's upper class. Critics were concerned that veterans would wreak havoc on educational standards and overburden campuses with their lack of preparation for the rigors of higher learning.
College campuses did become grossly over-crowded in the postwar years: approximately 7.8 million World War II veterans received benefits under the original GI Bill, and 2.2 million of those used the program for higher education. By 1947 half of all college students were veterans. Prefabricated buildings and Quonset huts were used as classrooms, and military barracks were often converted into dormitories. However, having spent a large part of their youth engaged in battle, World War II veterans were highly motivated. GIs in their late twenties and early thirties returned to the United States in droves, anxious to catch up with their nonmilitary peers, marry, settle down, and support a family. The benefits provided by the GI Bill facilitated these goals.
Veterans were not the only beneficiaries of the GI Bill. Colleges, with increased enrollments, received years of financial security following its enactment. Veterans demanded more practical college course work, and this need led to a changed concept of higher education, with more emphasis on degree programs like business and engineering. The lines of race, class, and religion blurred as higher education became attainable for all veterans. No longer was a college degree—and the higher paying jobs that normally follow it—limited to members of the upper class. Federal income increased as the average income of taxpayers in the United States increased, and as the veterans graduated from colleges, women and members of minorities enrolled to fill the gaps they left. The GI Bill's mortgage subsidies led to an escalated demand for housing and the development of suburbs. One-fifth of all single-family homes built in the 20 years following World War II were financed with help from the GI Bill's loan guarantee program, symbolizing the emergence of a new middle class."

3. Background from daily.jstor.org/the-inequality-hidden-within-the-race-neutral-g-i-bill/
"While the bill itself was progressive, much of the country still functioned under both covert and blatant segregation. Therefore, when blacks did receive thorough training, they still weren’t considered for positions that matched their skill set. Humes writes, “86 percent of the skilled, professional, and semiskilled jobs went to white veterans, while 92 percent of the nonskilled and service positions went to black vets.” Blacks were also pushed away from G.I.-sponsored home loans, which enabled white vets to own property that they could then pass down to their children and grandchildren. In the summer of 1947, three thousand VA home loans were issued in Mississippi, with only two of those loans being granted to black veterans.
On the positive side, the G.I. Bill did boost the black middle class in unprecedented ways and would pave the way for the Civil Rights Movement. The resulting legislation of the 1960s put black veterans and civilians one step closer to equal treatment under the law."

FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC John Shaw PO1 William "Chip" Nagel MSG Andrew White SSG(P) James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Col Carl Whicker Sgt (Join to see) SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SMSgt Lawrence McCarter SP5 Mark Kuzinski Sgt John H. SGT John " Mac " McConnell Cynthia Croft PO3 Phyllis Maynard

I did not know this!

Not surprising at all. There has always been barriers established in the military since minorities were allowed to serve. It’s been a long hard fight by the men and women of very ethnic and racial backgrounds. Thanks for the history lesson.