Black Veterans: A Case for Repair
Monk v. U.S. asks whether reparations for Black veterans are possible.
New Haven, CT — Last March, a Federal District Court Judge in Connecticut rejected an argument that the United States government is immune from a lawsuit alleging that, since World War II, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has racially discriminated against Black veterans in the administration of housing, education, and disability benefits.
For decades, VA ignored repeated requests by advocates to access its racial data. A 2021 lawsuit by Black Veterans Project compelled the release of two decades of disability grant rate data by race, substantiating what Black veterans, their families, and advocates had long suspected—sustained and systemic disparities in the administration of a veterans’ benefits program.
Despite multiple internal studies, VA leadership failed to take corrective action despite actual or constructive knowledge of discriminatory outcomes—supporting claims of negligence and systemic misconduct made in Monk v. United States.
Despite a government record spanning the denial of Civil War pensions and the retraction of housing, education, and healthcare benefits through World War II, Vietnam, and the Gulf Wars, little more evidence has ever been made public.
Accountability remained elusive—until now.
A Marine’s Story
Conley Monk Jr. served his country in two tours as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam, resulting in crippling PTSD and exposure to Agent Orange, but was repeatedly denied access to veterans’ housing, education, and disability benefits he was entitled to. Mr. Monk’s story mirrors the struggles of millions of Black veterans who have faced institutional barriers to accessing the benefits they are rightfully owed.
In 1971, shortly after returning from Vietnam, he was denied unemployment insurance following separation from the military. In 1976, he was denied education benefits. In 1981, he was denied access to disability benefits for PTSD. In 1983, he was denied access to a veterans’ home loan. Following a stroke in 2010, he made another appeal for veterans’ disability benefits and was denied. He applied again in 2012 and was denied—over 40 years of obstruction to the veterans’ benefits he had earned.
Highlighting the systemic generational bias in the system, Mr. Monk’s father faced similar challenges in accessing veterans’ benefits in the decades following his service in World War II.
A district judge rejected the argument that the court lacked the power to hear the case, finding the allegations of systemic racial discrimination and the resulting “dignitary, emotional and psychological harm” were sufficient for the case to proceed. The court’s decision makes Monk v. United States an important and landmark ruling as one of the few federal reparations cases to survive a motion to dismiss in U.S. history.
“Since its inception, VA has designed and implemented its benefits programs to reinforce our nation’s racial caste system – neglecting its moral, ethical, and legal responsibility to intervene to ensure racism was not a barrier to accessing home loans, education benefits, and disability compensation, said Richard Brookshire, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Black Veterans Project. “The consequence has been dire, resulting in hundreds of billions in economic loss to Black veterans and their families.”
“My father fought at Normandy. My brother fought in Vietnam. My sister, another brother, and I served. And we will not stop fighting until VA treats all veterans equally,” said Garry Monk, Executive Director, National Veterans Council for Legal Redress. “Today is an important moment in the struggle for justice for Black veterans, whose service and sacrifice VA has ignored for generations.”
“This entire endeavor was born from the imagination and strategic vision of the Black Veterans Project,” said Michael Wishnie, William O. Douglas Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School, “who joined forces with Conley Monk and the National Council for Legal Redress to make this vision a reality. It was through BVP’s efforts that VA was forced, for the first time, to disclose documents confirming that VA knowingly maintained a racially discriminatory benefits system for years. Without BVP’s commitment and creative insight, VA would not be held accountable for the harm it caused.”
“Since its inception, VA has designed and implemented its benefits programs to reinforce our nation’s racial caste system – neglecting its moral, ethical, and legal responsibility to intervene to ensure racism was not a barrier to accessing home loans, education benefits, and disability compensation, said Richard Brookshire, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Black Veterans Project. “The consequence has been dire, resulting in hundreds of billions in economic loss to Black veterans and their families.”
“My father fought at Normandy. My brother fought in Vietnam. My sister, another brother, and I served. And we will not stop fighting until VA treats all veterans equally,” said Garry Monk, Executive Director, National Veterans Council for Legal Redress. “Today is an important moment in the struggle for justice for Black veterans, whose service and sacrifice VA has ignored for generations.”
“I hope the advancement of Monk v. United States spurs a broader societal recognition of the systemic barriers that have impeded Black veterans from accessing tools to build wealth for themselves and their families”, said Daniele Anderson, Co-Founder, Black Veterans Project. “We stand with Mr. Monk, knowing that every step forward in this legal battle moves us beyond platitudes honoring the sacrifice of Black Veterans to restorative measures that rectify these injustices.”
“The disparate treatment of Black veterans can no longer be waived away as conjecture or purely anecdotal; it is now a matter of statistical fact and judicial debate,” said Daniel Walker, former Board Member of Black Veterans Project. Monk v. United States represents a step toward justice for all veterans and a leap forward in redressing past harms suffered by African Americans at the hands of racially discriminatory systems. Black Veterans Project is honored to serve in furtherance of that cause.
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