Veterans Affairs has denied benefit to African Americans for decades federal lawsuit alleges

Monday’s federal lawsuit alleges that obtaining benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs has been disproportionately more difficult for Black Americans for decades.
A lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut by Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic on behalf of Conley Monk Jr., a Vietnam War veteran who has been repeatedly denied home loans, education, and medical benefits because he is Black, according to sources.
“The lawsuit states that VA’s racial discrimination has resulted in the denial of many qualified applications from Black veterans, depriving them and their families of the care and support that their service has earned,” sources close to the situation claim.
The suit alleges that Monk is not alone.
The average denial rate for disability compensation was 5.3% higher for Black veterans than their white peers between 2001 and 2020, according to VA records obtained by NBC through a Freedom of Information Act request and litigation by the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress, of which Monk is the co-founder and director, and the Black Veterans Project. The average acceptance rate for racial disparity was 6.8%.
The suit reads “they failed to redress longstanding, pervasive race discrimination and disparate impacts of which they knew or should have known.”
Black veterans have been denied benefits, including the GI Bill and honorable discharges, in multiple studies. Black veteran groups have begun organizing in response, and Black politicians have been stepping in to help as well.
“Racism is unacceptable, and we are studying the role it has played in benefit decisions,” said Terrence Hayes, Veteran Affairs Press Secretary, in a statement to NBC.
“We are actively working to right these wrongs,” Hayes said. “We are taking steps to ensure that our claims process does not perpetuate institutional racism.”
“I’m not interested in the study’s results,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) at a press conference Monday after the suit was filed.
Blumenthal told reporters, “We know the results.” We just want to know why.