The Port Chicago 50

By Steve Sheinkin

Subjects: African american sailors--history--20th century, Juvenile literature, African american sailors--history--20th century--juvenile literature, Port chicago mutiny trial, san francisco, calif., 1944, Port Chicago Mutiny, Port Chicago, Calif., 1944, Port Chicago Mutiny Trial, San Francisco, Calif., 1944, Civil rights, united states, African americans--civil rights--history--20th century--juvenile literature, African Americans, African americans, juvenile literature, Port chicago mutiny, port chicago, calif., 1944--juvenile literature, World war, 1939-1945, african americans, World War, 1939-1945, African americans--civil rights--history--20th century, Port chicago mutiny, port chicago, calif., 1944, United States, African americans--historyunited states. navy, World war, 1939-1945--participation, african american, African americans, civil rights, Port chicago mutiny trial, san francisco, calif., 1944--juvenile literature, World war, 1939-1945, juvenile literature, D810.n4 s44 2014, African American sailors, World war, 1939-1945--participation, african american--juvenile literature, African american sailors--history, United States. Navy, Civil rights, African American Participation, History, United states, navy, juvenile literature, 940.54/5308996073079463, African americans--civil rights--history, Sailors, United states, navy, history

Description: "In San Francisco Bay there was a United States Navy base called Port Chicago. During World War II, it was a busy port where young sailors--many of them teenagers--loaded bombs and ammunition into ships bound for American troops in the Pacific. Like the entire Navy, Port Chicago was strictly segregated. All the officers giving orders were white; all the men loading bombs were black. On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked Port Chicago, killing 320 servicemen and injuring hundreds more. But the truly remarkable part of the story was still to come. Surviving black sailors were taken to a nearby base and ordered to return to the same exact work. More than 200 of the men refused unless the unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. The sailors called it standing up for justice. The Navy called it mutiny and threatened that anyone not immediately returning to work would face the firing squad. Most of the men agreed to back down. Fifty did not. This is a dramatic story of prejudice and injustice in America's armed forces during World War II, and a provocative look at a controversial group of young sailors who took a stand that helped change the course of history"--Jacket flap. In July 1944, an explosion at a California navy base killed hundreds of sailors loading munitions. Fifty black seamen, refusing to resume work in unsafe conditions, were charged with mutiny. The text contains profanity, violence, and racial slurs.