Black Veterans underutilize key health care, housing, education, and disability benefits which further erode outcomes. BVEC has committed to training 500 Black Veterans Service Officers to shift the status quo.
Black Veterans have served honorably since the nation’s founding, despite a history of discrimination and erasure. BVEC works to preserve, honor and amplify the legacy of Black military service, highlighting the contributions of Black veterans to American culture and history.
For decades, a lack of substantive policy advocacy on issues affecting Black veterans has exacerbated disparities. BVEC collaborates with stakeholders across government to address the needs of Black veterans.
The Black Veterans Empowerment Council (BVEC) is a non-partisan coalition of national, state and local veterans organizations seeking to shift long-standing racial inequities suffered by Black veterans in the United States. Since its inception, BVEC has grown to include 15+ organizations, representing more than 20,000 members with the ability to reach hundreds of thousands more in communities across our nation.
Following national unrest in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the House Veterans Affairs Committee convened a roundtable of Black veterans organizations from around the nation to begin confronting persisting racial inequities in homelessness, joblessness, educational outcomes and access to benefits amongst our nation's Black veterans.
After the roundtable concluded, to continue a spirit of collaboration and uplift among organizations committed to shifting outcomes for Black veterans and their families, BVEC was formed.
Since BVEC's inception, the coalition has advanced the passage of S. 1031, a bill earmarking a government study of racial disparities in the allocation of veterans benefits and advised on numerous legislative efforts - to include the Military Justice Improvement Act and efforts to address diversity, equity and inclusion within the Department of Veterans Affairs. As the nation’s premier voice representing Black veterans on Capitol Hill, BVEC will continue to advance legislation to address Black veterans housing, education, employment and healthcare outcomes.
