02/08/2026
This page illustrates a nightmare Jude is having about his time fighting overseas. As he and his fellow Black soldiers navigate the terrain of war, some pieces of paper labeled “G.I. Bill” fall from the sky. Jude reaches for the pieces of paper only to watch them disintegrate in his hands. Jude’s words provide meaning to the nightmare: “...what was
for heroes was not for us.”
Jude’s nightmare is a metaphor for the racial inequities that Black veterans faced when they tried to reap the benefits they were owed. For example, the G.I. Bill, also known as the 1944 Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, was a law that provided veterans with education and housing assistance. Although the act was a federal law, it was implemented at the state level. Some state government administrations chose to make it very difficult or even
impossible for Black veterans to take advantage of the benefits to which they were lawfully entitled.