The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will partner with the NAACP to improve the department’s service for Black veterans, the organizations announced Friday.
The new initiative hopes to increase Black enrollment in VA services and assist in hiring “culturally-competent” care providers who specialize in working with minority communities, the VA said in a release.
“As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the integration of our armed forces, we must acknowledge the fact that Black Veterans have not always received the just treatment they deserve,” NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement.
“That’s why the NAACP is proud to embark on this historic partnership with VA to further our commitment to ensuring that representation does not come without respect," he added. "We look forward to all that we’ll accomplish together on behalf of our Black Veterans."
Recent data showed that while Black veterans were more likely to receive benefits grants than other veterans, those grants were on average smaller, the department said in the release.
Black Americans make up about 17 percent of men and 28 percent of women in the armed forces, according to a study from the Council for Foreign Relations. That study also found that Black service members were less likely to be officers than white service members.
The partnership is part of the VA's recent diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives aimed at increasing quality of care for minority veterans and ensuring that all veterans get the assistance they need, the agency said.
The department and the U.S. military at large have become an ever-increasing target for conservative culture war debates, including implementing DEI programs.
In the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the military budget, political debate bubbled up in the House over U.S. military policy on granting leave for abortions and gender-affirming care. Republicans also targeted the public display of pro-LGBTQ messaging on military bases.
The Senate version of the NDAA, passed this week, does not include those provisions.
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