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Economic Development and the Black Veteran

By G. David Curry

(Presentation to the Veterans Symposium, Midwest Minority Vendors Convention, Chicago, IL 2/7/87.)

G. David Curry PhD
VVAW Chicago
Former CPT, USARV

Economic development can mean a lot of different things to black veterans of the Vietnam war.

Youths from poorer backgrounds in the Vietnam generation were less likely than middle-class youth to figure out how to avoid being assigned to a combat zone. The more disadvantaged social status of black Americans during the war translated into more hazardous, more personally damaging military assignments for black personnel than for white personnel. In comparison to non-veterans of the same age, World War II vets are "better off"; Korean vets and no "worse off", Korean vets and no "worse off"; and Vietnam vets are significantly "worse off" in terms of income and education. "Worst off" of all are minority vets in the inner cities.

Each year of education is worth significantly less in dollars of yearly income to Vietnam veterans Vietnam-era vets than to non-veteran males of the same age. The image of a Vietnam veteran in a dead-end job with no future for economic or personal growth is a statistically accurate one for blacks and whites. So, one definition of needed economic development is the opportunity to leap from "managed" to "management" and the opportunity to start ones' own business.

Unemployment or a continuous jumping from one low-paying, low-status job to another is more of a problem for black veterans than white veterans. The average unemployment rate in Chicago's white communities is 6.3 percent. In the black communities of Chicago, the average unemployment rate is 17.4 percent. So another definition of economic development is increasing the availability of jobs and even more importantly jobs with an income that can sustain the veteran's existence, give the opportunity to support a family, and provide the self-respect that comes with "a future."

It has been said, in reference to this country's history of slavery, that the greatest economic deprivation is the loss of freedom. The number of veterans who are currently incarcerated in this country is not known. It is known that veterans are more likely than non-veterans to report having "gotten in trouble with the law."

The U.S. is a country that is 20% black whose prison population is 60% black. At least in prison there is usually some degree of shelter and some kind of food available. For other thousands of veterans there is not even the security of prison. The American Legion has now estimated that approximately one-third of homeless persons in the U.S. are veterans under the age of forty. Research has shown than black communities on the average experienced higher Vietnam casualty rates than white communities. Each of those casualties constituted an irreparable cost to the black communities where costs are already high. It must not be forgotten that these are communities where a black infant has a great probability of being murdered than a white person of any age.

So, economic development for black veterans or their survivors does mean a lot of different things. It does indeed mean business and career opportunities. It does indeed mean increased availability of decent jobs. But it also has to mean that military service or crime can't remain the best and supposedly "smartest" alternatives for black youths. It also has to mean more imaginative, innovative, and collective ways of achieving food, shelter, safety, and hope.

References

Badillo, g., and G.D. Curry, "Vietnam Casualties: Class or Race?" Armed Forces & Society,2,2,1976.

Card, J. Lives after Vietnam: the Personal Impact of Military Service. Lexington Book, 1983.

Currie, E. Confronting Crime. Lexington Books, 1985.

Curry, G.D. Sunshine Patriots: Punishment and the Vietnam Offender. Notre Dame University Press, 1985.

Curry, G.D. "Nam Vets in Prison." The Veteran. 17,1 (Winter, 1987): 9f.

Spergel, I.A. and G.D. Curry "Gangs, Communities, and Schools," Social Service Administration, University of Chicago 1987.

Villemez, W., and J. Kasarda, "Military Service and Economic Status." Armed Forces & Society, 2,2 1976.