On Veterans Day, Give Black® Alliance honors every American who has worn our nation's uniform. We extend special recognition to Black veterans and Black women veterans, who have defended a democracy that has not always defended them.
Black Americans have served in every American war, from the Revolution to the present. The United States Colored Troops, the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen, and the Montford Point Marines helped write America's military history. Black women wrote it too. Cathay Williams enlisted in 1866 and served with the Buffalo Soldiers. The women of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion cleared a backlog of millions of letters to keep troops connected to home during World War II. Hazel Johnson-Brown became the Army's first Black woman general. Michelle Howard became the first woman in Navy history to earn four stars. Their accomplishments reflect merit, courage, and excellence. They are not concessions to diversity.
The Cost of This War
This year, service carries a heavy and specific weight. Since February, American service members have deployed, fought, and died in the war with Iran. Black Americans make up about 17 percent of the armed forces and 14 percent of the population. Black families therefore carry a disproportionate share of that risk.
History tells us what often follows. After World War II, Black veterans received, on average, 40 percent of the GI Bill benefits that white veterans received. Decades of VA data, released through Monk v. United States, showed that Black veterans faced disability claim denials at a rate 21.9 percent higher than white veterans. We owe today's service members and their families honesty about that history and a commitment to break it.
Service Deserves Opportunity
We cannot celebrate Black military service while ignoring barriers to Black military leadership. In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed two Black officers and two women from the Army's brigadier general list over the objections of the Army Secretary. This spring, he struck nine officers from the Navy's one-star list, including every woman and two Black officers that senior admirals had selected. Defense officials report that he has pulled 32 officers from Air Force and Navy flag lists. Senator Jack Reed testified that nearly 60 percent of the senior officers Secretary Hegseth has fired are women or Black. Today, no woman holds four-star rank on active duty. The Pentagon has offered no performance-based explanation for any of it.
A nation cannot fully honor service while denying opportunity to those who serve.
Service Beyond the Uniform
Military service defends our democracy. Civic service sustains it. Black communities have always understood this connection. Through mutual aid societies, churches, civic organizations, and voting rights movements, Black Americans built the institutions that make democratic promises real. At Give Black® Alliance, we call this The Power of US. We believe philanthropy is an expression of democracy. Every hour volunteered, every dollar given, and every community strengthened represents an investment in the country our veterans served.
Gratitude alone does not meet our obligation. Veterans deserve health care, economic security, fair access to the benefits they earned, and fair access to leadership.
Service deserves respect. Sacrifice deserves recognition. Leadership deserves opportunity. Democracy requires participation.
To all veterans, and especially to Black veterans and Black women veterans: we honor you, and we thank you.
Bithiah Carter
President and CEO, Give Black® AllianceThe Power of US. The Power of Democracy.
#VeteransDay #BlackVeterans #BlackWomenVeterans #ThePowerOfUS #GiveBlackAlliance
Sources:
Honoring Service. Defending Dignity. Strengthening Democracy.
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