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Rhetoric vs. Reality: How Are Veterans Really Treated in America?
Episode 244 • 29th May 2025 • TonyTidbit: A Black Executive Perspective • TonyTidbit ™
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Episode Audio Link: https://podcast.ablackexec.com/episode/Rhetoric vs. Reality: How Are Veterans Really Treated in America?"

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In this episode of Need to Know, Dr. Nsenga Burton pulls back the curtain on the true meaning of Memorial Day—its powerful origins rooted in the actions of formerly enslaved African Americans honoring fallen soldiers. But how far have we strayed from that legacy?

Dr. Burton delivers a pointed critique of the political double-speak surrounding veterans, spotlighting the gaping divide between patriotic rhetoric and the harsh realities many veterans face today—displacement, lack of employment support, and uphill battles for basic benefits they’ve earned. She calls out the hypocrisy in public praise that’s not matched by policy or funding. The episode also unpacks the underappreciated significance of Juneteenth, drawing a bold line between the historical contributions of Black Americans and today’s political neglect. Dr. Burton challenges listeners to evaluate leaders not by what they say on holidays, but by what they do every day for those who serve.

▶︎ In This Episode

00:00: Introduction and Greetings

00:38: Memorial Day and African American History

01:13: Veterans and Political Hypocrisy

03:02: Challenges Faced by Veterans

05:16: The Importance of DEI for Veterans

06:52: Evaluating Political Actions vs. Words

09:12: Conclusion and Next Episode

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Transcripts

BEP Narrator:

A Black Executive Perspective.

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Now presents need to know with

the award-winning hyphenated Dr.

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Nsenga Burton, Dr.

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Burton.

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What do we need to know?

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Dr. Nsenga Burton:

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Good afternoon and welcome

to Need To Know with Dr.

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Nsenga Burton.

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I am she, I am happy to be talking to

you today because hey, I'm above ground.

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Um, so any day above grounds.

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My grandfather used to say, um,

who he also said he was on borrowed

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time on somebody else's time, um,

and he lived into his nineties.

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But, um, anytime that a, a day

above ground is better than any

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other day that you could have.

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So I'm happy to be here.

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Um, celebrated, uh, Memorial Day,

as you know, that was founded by

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African Americans, formerly enslaved

African Americans who wanted to honor

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Union, union soldiers who had, um,

been left in the unmarked grave.

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And, um, that kind of

started this whole thing.

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It was known as Decoration Day.

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So wanted to give you just a little

bit of history as we were all.

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Not all of us, but many of us

were celebrating on Monday and

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celebrating those who have, uh,

passed away, um, in, uh, battle, um,

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and in honor of our, uh, country.

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So, uh, it's.

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Always interesting to me, um, to kind of

look at the, uh, juxtaposition between

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that and, um, what is actually happening

now, uh, because we have someone who,

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um, some call a draft dodger, um, 47,

um, but you know, who definitely has not

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served any time, uh, in the military.

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Somehow in, uh, evaded that although

he could have served many times, um, in

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the military, even when he was drafted,

allegedly, um, but somehow, you know,

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was not, uh, did not have to serve.

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Um, but when we think about what's

happening in our world today, especially

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as it relates to veterans and the many

veterans that have been displaced, uh,

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they have been put outta their jobs.

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Um, and.

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I find it also fascinating that so many

veterans supported this president, um,

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because he is not someone who has military

service and he has, um, be be, he has said

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some awful things about those who have,

including, you know, calling folks losers.

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I mean, he was horrible to John McCain.

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I mean, horrible.

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I mean, horrible to John McCain, um,

when he was running for office and

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to other veterans of note, um, he has

just not treated them well publicly.

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He has not spoken well of

veterans publicly and he just

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basically calls them losers.

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And, you know, he was, don't be

mad at him 'cause he was smart

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enough to, to not go to war.

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And because he didn't have to do

that, and that because of his, you

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know, uh, magnetic personality, he

is able to attract, um, you know.

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Uh, supporters who are veterans, uh,

despite the fact that, uh, he has said

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these horrible things, uh, and, you know,

cut funding, he did that in the first,

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first term, um, to, uh, veteran causes.

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Um.

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Veterans make up a large portion of

the unhoused community, which people

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don't like to admit, but it is true.

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Um, because we are not

good to our veterans.

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I can say that.

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'cause I come from a family of veterans.

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Um, and you know, once you're

out, you're pretty much on your

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own and then you, it, it's up to

you to go get what you have been.

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Um.

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Offered or which you have earned, I would

say you have been or you have earned.

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Um, it's also always, it is often

a complicated process to get those

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things, whether it's the GI Bill,

whether it's help with your housing,

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you know, all of the things.

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Um, and so I.

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As we think about these holidays

that are coming up, you know,

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we think about Memorial Day, we

think about Independence Day.

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For some of us it's Juneteenth.

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And I just wanna also say real quick, I

know Tony's like wrap it up, land a plane.

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But I do wanna say this, that

Juneteenth was not something that was

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celebrated by all African Americans

in that throughout the country.

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Now all of us are from Texas, Louisiana,

um, and you know, neighboring states.

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And so we did not.

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Uh, have the Juneteenth

experience, if you will.

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Um, and I only really learned, learned

about Juneteenth, um, when one of my

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line sisters, who's from Texas, um, was

celebrating when we were in college and

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I was like, well, what's Juneteenth?

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So even making that a national holiday

as if it was going to appease all African

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Americans, um, many of whom, and I would

say the majority of whom do not celebrate,

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did not celebrate Juneteenth, um.

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Is is interesting, but what I wanna talk

about is the hypocrisy of this democracy

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and the hypocrisy of this president,

um, and how he pretends to care about

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this particular population of veterans,

military population and does not, um,

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whether he's firing the joint Chiefs

of SHA staff because he was black.

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There's no reason to fire him.

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Um.

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Other than the fact that he was black

and calling him a DEI hire, undermining

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all of the great work that he had

done over the course of his career.

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All the people he had helped, all the

lives, he had saved, all the strategies

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he had put in place to keep America

safe, um, under, uh, presidents of

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different, uh, political parties.

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You know, he wasn't just a a, an

appointee, um, by a democratic president.

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He served under, um, Republican

presidents as well, so.

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When you have that kind of person

in office, when you see what is

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happening to veterans, when you.

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Do a bait and switch, right?

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Oh, we're just gonna go after

the blacks knowing full.

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Well, you're gonna go after

the veterans because they

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actually are protected by DEI.

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That is why when you apply for

jobs, they have this section and you

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know, it's like, what's your race?

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What's your ethnicity?

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Are you a veteran?

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Do you have a disability?

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All of that is the DEI section.

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So it's not just black people like y'all

like to pretend, or Latinx people like

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you, like to pretend It's also veterans.

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And the reason that we have these safety

nets in place for veterans because

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it's hard for them to transition back

into society, particularly those who

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have been in battle, um, they have lots

of challenges and issues that have to

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be met and they have to be handled.

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Um.

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Innovat that is, um, kind and

thoughtful and intentional.

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And then sometimes their jobs are so

specific when they're in the military,

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it's hard for them to transition

back into the j the work workforce

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here, um, back, you know, when

they come to the United States, um,

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because the specificity of the job.

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Does not allow them to align their

qualifications and skills, um, with

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jobs that are available in the market.

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And so sometimes they have to apply.

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That's what we call application.

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You all want to call it a handout,

but really what it is, is looking at

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what they have accomplished, achieved,

and learned, and know and mastered.

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Um, in the military and how

we can transfer, that's what

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we call transferable skills.

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Transfer those skills to the

current workplace so that

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we can get them employed.

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Um, and of course, if you can think

of anybody who's deserving of being

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employed, it certainly would be

someone who has served in the military.

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So, um, and that's worldwide.

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You know, um, you know, many countries

require you to serve in the military

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in order to maintain your citizenship.

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Um, and uh, so I say that to say

what you need to know is sometimes.

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Which you're seeing is not lining

up with what is really happening

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and that we have to be mindful of

people who are selling us one thing,

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but really doing something else.

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Um, and so that is, oh, we love veterans.

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Veterans, they're my greatest supporters.

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Veterans love me.

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All of these things.

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I'm gonna do things to help veterans.

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And then you look at what has happened

and what is happening to veterans, uh,

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under this particular administration.

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You know, they have really

been disenfranchised.

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Uh, they've been displaced.

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Many of them had jobs in the federal

government because that was a place,

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a soft landing spot, if you will.

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Um, for veterans.

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Many of them have, uh, have had

their whole division shut down.

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Um, they've been made to leave.

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Uh, they have taken jobs and

the jobs no longer exist.

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Um, after uprooting their entire family,

things of that nature have happened.

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So I want you to pay attention to what

is actually happening versus the rhetoric

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or the speaking that is happening.

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You know, do you really care about me?

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When everything that you are doing, and

I won't say everything, but a lot of

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what you are doing is going against me.

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Pell Grants, for instance, that

is going against veterans as well.

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Um, elimination of the education

department that is going against

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veterans as well, because a lot of, um.

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Students and what we call non-traditional

students are actually veterans.

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These are people who go to and serve

and then they come back and go to

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college and they are in need of help

and assistance and all of the things.

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So, um, I just encourage you and,

and what I need you to know is that

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you should look at people's actions

and think less about their words.

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People will tell you this, and we

know this in like relationships, we

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get this in friendships, but I want

you to think about this in politics.

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You know, because, oh, I don't trust

politicians, I don't trust politicians.

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But then you wanna put everything

behind this one particular

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politician over one thing.

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You could be a racist, right?

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You could be a sexist, um, you

could be anti-establishment,

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you could be an anarchist.

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There are lots of reasons why you

might support this candidate, this

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particular president, but really

look at what is happening to you.

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Um, and to the, your community and I

would say communities, 'cause we're

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always connected to other communities.

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Right.

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Um, and see if that aligns with

what this person is saying to

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you during these important dates.

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Um, and our history and in our present.

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Um, and also during, um,

their time in office.

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All right, so tune in next week, uh,

for another need to know with Dr.

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Nsenga Burton and definitely

check out the award-winning,

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A Black Executive Perspective

podcast, um, with Tony and Chris.

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They are amazing hosts.

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They have wonderful conversations and

they talk to really interesting people.

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Have a wonderful day

and I will see you soon.

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BEP Narrator: A

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Black Executive Perspective.

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