THE PORT CHICAGO 50

This book is about segregation in the Navy during WW II, and the fatal explosion at Port Chicago on July 17, 1944. 50 men (all black) were accused of mutiny for refusing the order to load ammunition in very dangerous conditions. The men did not even have training. The men were loading ammunition boats that would go help fight the Japanese. The navy judge that was assigned to the case later in court said "We will find them guilty" during a break on a trial one day. These fifty men were also wrongly accused because the Navy's definition of mutiny is "with intent to usurp or override lawful military authority, refuses, in concert with any other person, to obey orders or otherwise do his duty". These 50 men did not try to take over the Navy; they simply did not want to work. They also said "We will obey any order except loading ammunition".

After the 50 men were charged and sent to prison, they were released 16 months later and were assigned to work on integrated ships for the first time in Navy history.

Steve Sheinkin wrote the book, to keep this generation of American pride and shame alive today in the modern world. The author of this book stumbled upon this while writing his other book "BOMB". The author seems to be more biased to the accused (a.k.a. The Port Chicago 50). During the book Steven tries to tell the story from the sailors' point of view, showing that the 50 were treated unfairly.

This book was organized into chapters that played out in chronological order. The information the book is giving is the trial of the men and images from the port and court room. The author also gives causes and effects such as the trial leading to the integration of the navy which later lead to the whole military being integrated.The information is very thorough in the book, particularly the step by step process of the trial. The book is a very quick read only 193 pages, and 23 of the pages are sources and acknowledgements. This book would be useful for anyone who wants to learn about segregation and WW II.

3 FACTS

• Navy secretary Frank Knox released a policy change in April 1942
• The explosion started on the S.S Bryan (which was full including hot cargo)
• Thurogood Marshall (NAACP Lawyer) was helping the 50 get out of Prision

3 FACTS EXPLANATION

• The policy that was released did very little for the black community
• The hot cargo (incendiary bombs) were higly explosive and blew up the whole port
• TH at the time was a higly respected civil rights leader and was very helpful to the 50

3 OPINIONS

• The 50 were actually guilty of mutiny
• The 50 had an unfair trial in court because the jury was all white
• That blacks shouldn't be able to serve on navy ships at the time

While I worked on this project I learned many things I did not previously know. For example I learned that at the time blacks could be no higher then a petty officer in the navy. I also learned that even during war time people still found time to be racist. My opinions through the book have not changed. Although I do feel very sympathetic to the men that were charged with the crime.

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Work Cited
Sheinkin, Steve. The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights. New York,NY: Roaring Brook, 2014. Print.

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